Africa’s top basketball league known as the Basketball Africa League (BAL) have announced its partnership with Entrepreneurial Solutions Partners (ESP).
This makes ESP not only the official partner of the BAL but also the league’s country partner in Rwanda.
The announcement was officially made on May 24 by BAL President Amadou Gallo Fall and ESP CEO Eric Kacou at a launch event at Kigali Arena.
Through the partnership, the BAL and ESP will provide youth and entrepreneurs in Rwanda with learning and development opportunities, basketball training, and life skills sessions.
As part of the partnership, ESP will bring together 150 graduates and entrepreneurs from Rwanda for the “Sports Business Future Stars Camp,” a week long professional development program and immersion into Africa’s sports industry that will be held in Kigali this week.
“We are very excited to partner with ESP, who share our commitment to inspiring, empowering and developing the next generation of entrepreneurs and business leaders in Africa,” said Fall.
“Ultimately, our goal is to build the BAL into a world-class professional basketball league that will be an anchor for the robust sport business industry we want in Africa. The BAL’s impact is felt far beyond the court, and the Sports Business Future Stars Camp will be a great platform to use the transformative power of basketball to bring together young leaders from different backgrounds and provide them with the tools to excel.” He added
“Rwanda has made significant strides in launching its sports industry, and this immersive program in sports training will unleash the potential of youth to secure dignified jobs in the industry,” said Kacou.
“Our ultimate goal through this groundbreaking partnership with the BAL is to develop a new generation of sports leaders for Africa.” He noted
ESP joins the BAL’s roster of world-class marketing partners, which includes Foundational Partners New Fortress Energy (NFE), Rwanda Development Board (RDB), NIKE, Jordan Brand and Wilson, and official partners sports Air Senegal, Attorney General Alliance (AGA) – Africa, Destination Senegal, Envol City and Hennessy.
The expanded 2022 BAL season features the top 12 club teams from 12 African countries playing a total of 38 games in three cities over three months: Dakar (March 5-15); Cairo, Egypt (April 9-19); and Kigali (May 21-28).
In the semi-finals on Wednesday, May 25, Cameroon’s F.A.P. will play Angola’s Petro de Luanda at 6 p.m. CAT / 12 p.m. ET
Egypt’s Zamalek will play Tunisia’s US Monastir at 9:30 p.m. CAT / 3:30 p.m. ET for the chance to advance to the 2022 BAL Finals, which will air in Africa.
