| 2025 BAL qualification | |
| Association: | FIBA Africa |
| League: | Road to BAL |
| Sport: | Basketball |
| Prevseason Year: | 2024 |
| Duration: | 8 October – 4 December 2024 |
| No Of Teams: | 26 |
| Season: | West Division |
| Season Champ Name: | Division champions |
| Season Champs: |  Al Ahli Tripoli(1st division title) |
| Top Scorer: | Elly Randriamampionona (GNBC) |
| Season2: | East Division |
| Season Champ2 Name: | Division champions |
| Season Champs2: |  Nairobi City Thunder (1st division title) |
| Top Scorer2: | Jean Jacques Boissy (Urunani) |
| Prevseason Link: | 2024 BAL qualification |
| Nextseason Link: | 2026 BAL qualification |
| Nextseason Year: | 2026 |
The qualification for the 2025 BAL season, also known as "Road to BAL 2025", were the qualifying tournaments for the 5th season of the Basketball Africa League (BAL). The tournaments were organised by FIBA Africa and began on 8 October and finished on 4 December 2024.
A total of 26 teams played in this season's qualifying system, The format was slightly altered, as this season only five teams qualified from the qualifying system, opposed to four in all previous years.
The format was changed from the previous four tournaments, as this season only four teams qualified through the Road to BAL, a decrease from the six teams in previous years.[1] [2] The national champions from Morocco and South Africa received direct qualification. In the first round, five groups in two divisions were played, with the top teams advancing to the elite 16. In the Elite 16 phase, the teams will be placed in two groups of eight teams each. After a round-robin tournament, the top two teams in each group will advance to the 2025 BAL season.
The first list of teams was announced by FIBA on 9 October 2024.[3]
denotes that a team withdrew.
| Association | Team | Date of qualification | Qualification method | Participation | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entered in first round | ||||||
| Elan Coton | 2023–24 Benin Basketball Super League champions | 3rd | [4] | |||
| 2024 Burkinabé Men's Basketball Championship champions | 1st | [5] | ||||
| Cameroon | KSA | 2023–24 Elite Messieurs champions | 1st | [6] | ||
| Kriol Star | – | Representative of the FCBB | 1st | |||
| Abeilles | 29 September 2024 | 2024 Bangui Basketball League champions | 1st | [7] | ||
| DR Congo | Chaux Sport | 2024 Coupe du Congo winners | 1st | [8] | ||
| ABC Fighters | 2024 Ligue d'Or season champions | 4th | [9] | |||
| MDA | 2024 Gabonese Basketball Cup | 1st | [10] | |||
| Spintex Knights | 2023 Accra Basketball League champions | 1st | [11] | |||
| Stade Malien | 2024 Ligue 1 champions | 2nd | ||||
| Mighty Barrolle | 2024 Liberia Basketball Association Division 1 champions | 1st | [12] | |||
| Al Ahli Tripoli | 2023–24 Libyan Division I Basketball League champions | 1st | [13] | |||
| Association | Team | Date of qualification | Qualification method | Participation | Ref. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Entered in Elite 16 | ||||||
| City Oilers | 2024 NBL Uganda season champions | 4th | [14] | |||
| MBB | – | 2024 South African National Basketball Championship winners | 1st | |||
| Entered in first round | ||||||
| BDF V | 1st | [15] | ||||
| Urunani | 2024 Viva Basketball League champions | 2nd | [16] | |||
| Ushindzi | 15 September 2023 | 2023 Comoros Basketball Championship winners | 2nd | |||
| Hawassa City | 2nd | |||||
| Kenya | Nairobi City Thunder | 2023–24 KBF Premier League champions | 1st | [17] | ||
| Costa do Sol | 20 December 2023 | 2023 LMB season champions | 1st | [18] | ||
| GNBC | 30 October 2023 | 2024 N1A champions | 2nd | [19] | ||
| Bravehearts | 2023–24 BASMAL National Championship winners | 2nd | ||||
| Fox | 20 October 2024 | SSBF BAL qualifying tournament winners | 1st | [20] | ||
| Beau Vallon Heat | 3rd | |||||
| JKT Stars | 2023 National Basketball League | 2nd | ||||
| Matero Magic | 6 January 2024 | 2023–24 Zambia Basketball League | 3rd | [21] | ||
| Basket Hounds | 2024 BUZ National Championship | 1st | [22] | |||
The West Division will begin with a group in Tripoli, Libya, from 8 to 13 October 2024.[23]
The Group C games were played in Douala, Cameroon, from 27 October to 1 November 2024.
The East Division will be hosted in Kibaha, Tanzania from 15 to 20 October 2024. The other group will be held in Harare, Zimbabwe, from 22 to 27 October 2024.
Venue: City Sports Center, Harare, Zimbabwe
Times are in GMT+3.Venue: The Filbert Bayi Olympafrica Centre, Kibaha, Tanzania
Hawassa City from Etiophia and Ushindzi Club from the Comoros was also initially announced to be in the group, before they withdrew.
The top eight teams from each division qualify for the Elite 16, in which teams in each division are split up in two groups. Here, they are joined by teams that already played in the 2024 BAL season and were national champions, as well as by the NBA Academy Africa.
The West Division will be played from 5 to 10 November 2024 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. Moanda and Mighty Barrolle were given wild cards.[24]
The draw was held on 3 November 2024 at the FIBA Africa headquarters in Abidjan.
The East Division will be held in the Kasarani Indoor Arena in Nairobi, Kenya, from 28 November to 3 December 2025. Kriol Star from Cape Verde and Fox from South Sudan received wild cards.[25] [26]
The draw was held on 24 November 2024 in Abidjan.