Rabat (AFP)

The launch of a professional basketball championship in Africa, under the patronage of the NBA, aims to "develop a real business" on the continent, as explained by the president of the African League of Basketball (BAL) in an interview with AFP.

The tournament, scheduled to start in January 2020 with 12 teams, marks the first time the all-powerful NBA has participated in a championship outside of North America, in conjunction with the International Basketball Federation (Fiba).

"What led us to create this League and start academies is that we see the opportunity to develop a real business on the continent", decrypts Amadou Gallo Fall, vice president of the NBA appointed in May last at the head of the BAL.

"In Africa, we must start thinking about sport in terms of business," he says, pointing out that "globally, the sports industry generates a very large share of GDP" (Gross Domestic Product, an indicator of economic wealth).

The president of the BAL was in Morocco this week to inaugurate two basketball courts in Khouribga and Benguerir, two mining towns in the east of the country, kick off a partnership with the Office Cherifien des Phosphates (OCP) . The world's largest phosphate fertilizer producer is on the rise in Africa and will fund the development of NBA Junior leagues in Morocco and Rwanda for an undisclosed amount, according to a statement from OCP.

In July 2018, the French Development Agency (AFD) put on the table six million dollars (5.4 million euros) for programs in partnership with the NBA in Nigeria, Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal , in South Africa and Morocco.

"Some have already understood that building infrastructure generates economic contribution," says Amadou Gallo Fall, evoking the record attendance for African basketball with the final of the African Championship ladies who gathered 15,000 spectators at the Dakar Arena for the victory of Nigeria against Senegal.

"It was really very good to see this passion, this craze, this desire to see beautiful shows in rooms of world standard," he says, "other arenas will see the light of day very soon. that we want to motivate with the creation of the League ".

- "Passion" -

But "for us, the most important is that young people who have a lot of passion for basketball have the opportunity to practice it," he says.

"We have already done a basic job for almost twenty years (...), a new generation is starting to appear and that is what leads us to create this League: we know that all the ingredients are on the spot ", he says.

For him, the Toronto Raptors team symbolizes the promise of African basketball, with its Nigerian president, Masai Ujiri and his Cameroonian strong winger Pascal Siakam crowned NBA champion 2018-2019, without forgetting the Congolese Serge Ibaka nor the former Congolese player Patrick Mutombo, now assistant coach.

Some 40 current NBA players are either born in Africa or have at least one parent born there, according to the NBA.

For the first African championship, six cities will host the matches of the regular season: Cairo, Dakar, Lagos, Luanda, Rabat and Monastir or Tunis. The "Final Four" (semi-final knockout and final) is scheduled for late spring in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda.

"We are talking with partners, some are leaders in terms of sports broadcasting," said Amadou Gallo Fall.

Partnerships have already been established with the brand of balloons Spalding, Nike and its subsidiary Jordan: "it's an opportunity for them to come on the ground popularize their products," says the president of the BAL recalling that "Africa is a market of 1.5 billion inhabitants ".

The NBA is very present internationally with matches broadcast in 215 countries, in 50 different languages. The league sells its products in more than 100,000 stores in 100 countries and six continents, including Africa.

© 2019 AFP