A Ghanaian team will compete in Basketball Africa League’s Main Competition soon- Mensah-Bonsu

Former NBA player Pops Mensah-Bonsu believes a Ghanaian team will qualify for the Basketball Africa League (BAL) soon. He shared this in an interview on ChannelOne TV’s Breakfast Daily Weekend. He discussed his SEED Academy Ghana Project, which aims to develop young Ghanaian basketball players.

The BAL is organized by the National Basketball Association (NBA). It is currently in its fifth edition, with Petro De Luanda from Angola as the defending champions. The 2025 BAL group phase runs from April 5 to May 25. The playoffs are scheduled for June 6 to June 14. The BAL winner qualifies for the FIBA Intercontinental Cup.

Ghana's Braves of Customs and Spintex Knights are the only teams from Ghana in the tournament. However, neither team reached the main competition last year. The Knights made it to the Elite 16 stage, but Mensah-Bonsu is optimistic about future success.

“I know what the future of Ghana is going to be within that [BAL],” he said. “Part of my move back here was to develop that ecosystem.” He wants Ghana to have a team and infrastructure for a league that can compete in the BAL.

Mensah-Bonsu was born in Britain but has Ghanaian roots. He represented Great Britain at the London Olympics in 2012. You can watch his interview from 18:03 to 18:55 mark below.