The Basketball Africa League (BAL) (www.theBAL.com) and Social Nation Africa (SNA) (www.SocialNationAfrica.com), a new digital platform that showcases the African creative landscape, today announced a multiyear partnership that will see SNA promote African artists and support the continent’s creative sector through content production in art, culture, music and sports. The announcement comes as the BAL is preparing to crown its first-ever champion today at 4 p.m. CAT at the Kigali Arena in Rwanda.
As an associate partner of the BAL, SNA will leverage its pioneering creative arts space in Mindelo, Cape Verde, for established and up-and-coming African artists and from the diaspora to share knowledge and produce content that will showcase Africa’s vibrancy, creativity and diversity, including about sport, basketball and the BAL.
“Our mission is to tell the inspiring and positive stories coming from Africa, and now is the time to recognise the vital role that the creative industry plays in job creation and in shaping the African identity,” said SNA Founder Samba Bathily. “We believe that this strategic partnership with the BAL will allow us to contribute to telling the stories of the continent’s ongoing positive social change and economic transformation.”
“Social Nation Africa shares our commitment to showcasing Africa’s talent and creativity, and in doing so helps the continent write its own narrative,” said BAL President Amadou Gallo Fall. “We’re excited to team up with a partner that is providing a platform for African artists to tell the stories of the continent’s progress and promise.”
The first BAL Finals will take place today at 4 p.m. CAT and will air live in Africa on Canal+, ESPN, beIN Sports, NBA TV and Voice of America (VOA), as well as through select free-to-air channels across the continent. The inaugural BAL season is reaching fans in 215 countries and territories in 15 languages.
Champions from the national leagues in Angola, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal and Tunisia earned their participation in the inaugural BAL season. The remaining six teams, which came from Algeria, Cameroon, Madagascar, Mali, Mozambique and Rwanda, secured their participation through BAL qualifying tournaments conducted by FIBA Regional Office Africa across the continent in late 2019.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of National Basketball Association (NBA).
Media Contact:
Yvon Edoumou
Basketball Africa League
+221 77 637 3401
yedoumou@thebal.com
About SNA:
Social Nation Africa is a digital platform established in 2021, with an aim to redefine the African creative landscape, through bringing together digital content creators and influencers from across various genres and provide them with tools and a platform to showcase their work. While SNA’s focus is the creative arts, SNA wants to unlock an entire ecosystem that will help to ensure access to decent jobs and sustainably improve living conditions of artists, professionals and their immediate environment.
About the BAL:
The BAL, a partnership between the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the NBA, is a new professional league featuring 12 club teams from across Africa. The BAL, which is headquartered in Dakar, Senegal, builds on the foundation of club competitions FIBA Regional Office Africa has organized in Africa and marks the NBA’s first collaboration to operate a league outside North America. Fans can follow the BAL @theBAL on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook and register their interest in receiving more information at www.theBAL.com.
