The NBA will invest millions of dollars in Basketball Africa League, its first professional league outside of North America. A top executive confirmed this and that the project will be hands-on earlier Tuesday. The NBA, in partnership with the International Basketball Federation, is launching the Basketball Africa League in January 2020. It will feature 12 teams from across the continent.
The NBA generated $8 billion in revenue last season, according to Forbes, and industry players say audience interest in Africa has grown alongside the profile of Africans playing in the world’s top basketball league. The NBA established an Africa office nine years ago. It held its first NBA Africa game in 2015. Games in 2017 and 2018 were played in front of sold-out crowds in South Africa.
NBA officials did not confirm exactly how much the NBA would be investing in the league but said it was millions of dollars. As the NBA courts African audiences, African players have been dominating in the NBA. There were 13 African-born players on the rosters of NBA teams at the opening of the 2018/19 season, out of the 108 international players. That rises to about 40 if players with African parents are included in the figure.
This article was written using a press release and information from multiple outlets. Media in this article is courtesy of NBC Sports and the NBA. For more college sports, follow us on Twitter @MWSNsports or like our page on Facebook.
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