CHARLOTTE, North Carolina: The NBA is bringing a pro league to Africa.
The Basketball Africa League, a new collaboration between the NBA and the sport’s global governing body FIBA, was announced Saturday. The initial plan is for the 12-team league to begin play in January, and former President Barack Obama is among those who are expected to have direct involvement with the league’s plan to keep growing the game in Africa through the league and other initiatives.
The scope of what Obama’s involvement will be remains unknown, and it’s yet to be determined which existing club teams will be part of the league. Qualification tournaments will be held later this year to determine those clubs, with teams from Angola, Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia expected to be among those taking part. No nation will have more than two teams in the league.
“As we’ve been talking about this concept over the last several months, there’s been a tremendous reception from many of our NBA team owners ... and in addition, several of the partners of the NBA have expressed a strong desire to work with us in Africa,” Silver said.
Silver said Pepsi and Nike’s Jordan Brand — Charlotte owner Michael Jordan was among the owners in the room where Silver made the announcement — are among the partners who have reached out to the NBA and said they want to be part of the Africa league. Silver also said that Obama, an enormous basketball fan, has told him he wants to “be directly involved with these activities in Africa.”
Silver said talks between the NBA and Obama are ongoing. Obama spoke on a video that was shown during the event where Silver announced the league.
“I hope you know through sport, that if you put in effort, you will be rewarded,” Obama said. “I hope you learn through sport what it means to play as a team, and even if you are the best player, your job is not just to show off but your job is to make your teammates better.”
The NBA and FIBA’s involvement will include financial support and resources toward continued growing of the game on the continent, as well as providing training for players, coaches and referees and some infrastructure for the new league. Silver said there are 438 companies in Africa that generate more than $1 billion in revenue annually, but that sport there has not seen the same growth — yet.
“Africa is a huge economic engine,” Silver said. “And one place, though, where we haven’t seen enormous economic growth yet is in the industry of sport. And that’s something that we are all particularly focused on.”
The NBA has held three games in Africa since 2015, all of them selling out — two games in Johannesburg, the other in Pretoria. Many of the league’s current players and coaches, along with several legends and Hall of Famers, have been part of those trips.
“I went with them last year,” Basketball Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said. “The NBA reaches out across the world.”
The league has an office in South Africa, has helped create 87 learn-and-play facilities in seven African nations, and 13 players who were born in Africa on opening-night NBA rosters this season. The league also built an academy in Senegal that opened nearly two years ago.
“It’s a huge joy to see our partnership with the NBA enter uncharted territory as we work together for the first time to maximize the potential of professional basketball in Africa,” said Andreas Zagklis, FIBA’s secretary-general.
This marks the first time the NBA has been involved with the operation of a league outside of North America.
“We’re excited to work closely with the NBA to develop and put in a place a professional league like none that we have ever seen in our region before,” said FIBA Africa Executive Director Alphonse Bile. “Through the Basketball Africa League, we can provide the many great clubs and players with the best possible environment to compete for the highest stakes.”
The NBA says more details about the new league will be released in the coming months.
NBA, FIBA announce plans for pro league in Africa
NBA, FIBA announce plans for pro league in Africa
- The Basketball Africa League is a new collaboration between the NBA and the sport’s global governing body FIBA
- Qualification tournaments will be held to determine those clubs that will take part
Women’s football world champion Spain drawn with Italy, Belgium and Portugal in Euro 2025 group
- A European title would complete the set for Spain women after winning the inaugural UEFA Nations League in February for coach Montse Tome
- The past two European champions, titleholder England and Euro 2017 winner the Netherlands, landed in a strong group with top-seeded France and Wales
LAUSANNE: World Cup winner Spain will chase a sweep of major women’s football titles at the 2025 European Championship after drawing a group with Italy, Belgium and Portugal on Monday.
A European title would complete the set for Spain women after winning the inaugural UEFA Nations League in February for coach Montse Tome, who took over when the team and federation were in turmoil after the 2023 world title win in Sydney. Tome is the only female coach in Spain’s Euro 2025 group.
Euro 2025 host Switzerland will open the 16-nation tournament against Norway on July 2 in Basel. The group also includes Iceland and Finland.
The past two European champions, titleholder England and Euro 2017 winner the Netherlands, landed in a strong group with top-seeded France and Wales.
France and England reunite next July 5 in Zurich after coming through the same qualifying group, in which they traded away wins in a five-day spell and France finished on top of the standings.
“We had some beautiful matches in May and June. It’s a very good challenge,” France coach Laurent Bonadei said.
Germany, the record eight-time European champion, was drawn with Denmark, Poland and Sweden, the inaugural winner in 1984.
Basel’s St. Jakob Park stadium also will host the final on July 27.
More than 700,000 tickets are publicly available for the 31 games being hosted in eight Swiss cities.
Switzerland has the responsibility to continue the momentum in European women’s football after three successful major tournaments.
France hosted the 2019 Women’s World Cup, won by the United States; host England won the Euro 2022 final against Germany watched by more than 87,000 fans at Wembley Stadium; and Spain and England played for the 2023 world title at the first 32-team tournament, hosted by Australia and New Zealand.
“For me it is the perfect moment for this tournament to come here,” said retired Swiss great Lara Dickenmann, a two-time Champions League winner with Lyon.
“It will be a game-changer for us,” Dickenmann told The Associated Press. “It’s going to be really important for the Swiss population but also for the Swiss media, Swiss politics, on any level that takes part in football.”
Switzerland will start against Norway — who lost the 2023 World Cup opening game against New Zealand — one month after the same teams meet in a Nations League group that also includes Iceland.
Switzerland coach Pia Sundhage said she aimed to field her best team in what will be a final competitive warmup for Euro 2025.
“Confidence can take any team anywhere,” said Sundhage, the Swedish veteran who led the US to back-to-back Olympic titles in 2008 and 2012.
England coach Sarina Wiegman has won the past two Euros titles, after leading her native Netherlands to the 2017 title, and suggested it will be an open and exciting tournament in Switzerland.
“It’s not just three or four countries” who can win, Wiegman said. “You can’t predict anymore.”
Pistons top Heat in overtime, Cavs cruise past Nets
LOS ANGELES: Cade Cunningham delivered a triple-double and Tim Hardaway Jr. came up big in overtime as the Detroit Pistons held off Miami 125-124 in an NBA thriller on Monday that snapped the Heat’s four-game winning streak.
The Pistons had looked to be in full control in Detroit, holding an 18-point lead with 8:05 left in the fourth quarter.
But the Heat roared back, knotting the score at 114-114 on Tyler Herro’s three-pointer with 5.2 seconds left in regulation.
Cunningham came up empty on a potential game-winner and the Heat scored the first eight points of the extra session before Hardaway delivered three straight three-pointers to put the Pistons ahead 123-122.
Jimmy Butler’s putback layup put Miami back on top by one, but Cunningham’s banked in shot gave the Pistons a 125-124 lead with 37.5 seconds remaining as Detroit escaped with the win.
Cunningham finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds and a career-high 18 assists for his sixth triple-double of the season.
“It’s what my job is, it’s what my responsibility is,” Cunningham said. “I just try to give it up for my teammates.
“Growing up that’s what I always dreamt of — being a guy that could do everything.”
Malik Beasley made seven three-pointers on the way to a team-high 28 points to help the Pistons withstand Butler’s triple-double of 35 points, 19 rebounds and 10 steals.
Butler added four steals and a blocked shot, but Miami failed to gain ground in the Eastern Conference led by the Cleveland Cavaliers, who improved their league-best record to 23-4 with a lopsided 130-101 victory over the Nets in Brooklyn.
Evan Mobley scored 21 points to lead seven Cavs players who scored in double figures. Caris LeVert added 19 off the bench and Donovan Mitchell scored 18 for Cleveland, who led by as many as 37 points.
The short-handed Philadelphia 76ers, fueled by 40 points from Tyrese Maxey and 33 from Paul George, spoiled the return from injury of Hornets star LaMelo Ball with a 121-108 victory in Charlotte.
Ball, who was averaging 31.1 points per game when he strained his calf on November 27, returned to action with 15 points, five rebounds and 11 assists.
Miles Bridges led Charlotte’s scoring with 24 points, but the 76ers led virtually all the way despite the absence of star center Joel Embiid and Rookie of the Year contender Jared McCain.
The Sixers said Monday that Embiid would miss at least a week after suffering a sinus fracture on Saturday, and McCain needs surgery on a torn meniscus.
George and Maxey picked up the slack, combining to score 44 of the Sixers’ 54 points in the first half. They finished with six three-pointers apiece as Philadelphia connected on 16 from beyond the arc.
The Chicago Bulls won a close one in Toronto, beating the Raptors 122-121.
Nikola Vucevic scored 24 points to lead the Bulls, which had seven players score in double digits.
That included Josh Giddey, who scored 11 points with nine rebounds and eight assists before departing after twisting his right ankle in the third quarter.
RJ Barrett scored 32 points and Gradey Dick chipped in 27 for Toronto, but the Raptors came up short in their bid to erase a 16-point deficit in the fourth quarter.
New Zealand crush England by 423 runs in third Test
HAMILTON, New Zealand: New Zealand tore through England’s batting Tuesday to post a crushing 423-run third Test win and send seamer Tim Southee into retirement on a winning note.
The hosts completed a dominant performance in Hamilton by claiming seven wickets in 41.2 overs on day four as England crumbled for 234 to complete their fourth biggest Test defeat in terms of runs.
It was New Zealand’s equal-highest victory by runs, representing a complete reversal from the first two Tests, which England won easily to clinch the three-match series.
Southee finished with 2-34 in his 107th and final Test, ending the career of one of New Zealand’s finest players.
He finishes with 391 Test wickets, second only to Sir Richard Hadlee among New Zealanders.
New Zealand only needed to take nine second-innings wickets for victory as Ben Stokes did not bat.
The England captain suffered a hamstring injury on Monday and a team spokesperson said he would only bat “if required.”
After resuming at 18-2, England never threatened their enormous target of 658, their hopes dwindling further when losing Jacob Bethell for 76, Joe Root for 54 and Harry Brook for just one before lunch.
They looked comfortable for the first hour before Root departed, having put on 104 for the third wicket with Bethell.
England’s greatest run-scorer was trapped lbw, attempting to sweep left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner.
Having been given not out, New Zealand successfully reviewed, with ball-tracking showing the ball would have hit the middle stump.
It left 33-year-old Root 28 runs short of becoming the fifth player to score 13,000 Test runs.
Brook, who scored match-winning centuries in each of the first two Tests, was out cheaply for the second time at Seddon Park, caught behind off a sharply rising Will O’Rourke delivery.
Left-hander Bethell batted fluently, striking 13 fours and a six, until he swung at a wide Southee delivery to be caught at deep point
Ollie Pope (17) was bowled attempting to reverse scoop pace bowler Matt Henry before Gus Atkinson’s hard-hit 43 ended when caught in the deep off Santner.
Matthew Potts and Brydon Carse fell cheaply, also trying to hit Santner out of the ground.
All-rounder Santner justified his recall by taking 4-85 to finish with seven wickets in the match, alongside scores of 76 and 49 with the bat.
Inter stun Lazio 6-0 to remind rivals of their title aspirations in Serie A
- Lazio started the game without regular defender Alessio Romagnoli and Samuel Gigot replaced center half Matias Gila midway through the first half
- The result meant Inter were alone in third place, three points behind leaders Atalanta and one behind Napoli with a game in hand
ROME: Inter Milan scored four times in a 12-minute spell either side of halftime and added another couple late on to rout Lazio 6-0 in a lopsided contest of Serie A title contenders on Monday.
Lazio were unbeaten at home in Serie A and they matched Inter for most of the first half in front of their own fans at the Stadio Olimpico.
However, four minutes from halftime Hakan Çalhanoglu put Inter ahead from the penalty spot and Federico Dimarco doubled the lead seconds before the break when he volleyed home a cross from Denzel Dumfries.
Lazio started the game without regular defender Alessio Romagnoli and Samuel Gigot replaced center half Matias Gila midway through the first half.
When Gigot was forced off at halftime coach Marco Baroni was forced to reshuffle his back four again but the lack of experienced heads in the center of defense was evident from the restart.
Nicolo Barella made it 3-0 six minutes into the second half with a sumptuous 30-meter volley and Dumfries rose above everyone to head home the fourth two minutes later.
Carlos Augusto showed some nice footwork in the box to make it 5-0 in the 77th minute and Marcus Thuram got his 11th goal of the season in the final minute to heap on the misery for the home side.
The result meant Inter were alone in third place, three points behind leaders Atalanta and one behind Napoli with a game in hand.
Lazio remained fifth.
Best of the best: Lookman and Banda crowned African players of the year
- Lookman: This is something incredible. To the youth of Africa I say — never give up. Turn pain to power
- Zambia forward Banda won the women’s player of the year award in recognition of her many goals for American club Orlando Pride and her country
MARRAKESH, Morocco: Nigeria forward Ademola Lookman was named 2024 African men’s player of the year at a ceremony in Marrakech on Monday, while Zambia’s Barbra Banda picked up the women’s award.
Lookman succeeds compatriot Victor Osimhen, who last year became the first Nigerian winner since Nwankwo Kanu in 1999.
The 27-year-old owes his achievement to consistently excellent performances both for Nigeria and current Serie A leaders Atalanta.
His three goals helped Nigeria reach the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations final, where they led hosts the Ivory Coast before losing 2-1 in Abidjan.
Lookman struck both goals in a last-16 victory over Cameroon and the winner in a 1-0 quarter-finals win over Angola.
A few months after the AFCON, the London-born attacker scored a hat trick as Atalanta overcame Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 in the Europa League final in Dublin.
“This is something incredible. To the youth of Africa I say — never give up. Turn pain to power,” Lookman said after receiving the award.
The runners-up included South African Ronwen Williams, who won the best goalkeeper and best club player awards.
Instead of the traditional three nominees for the best player award, there were five given the closeness of the voting among the coaches and captains of African national teams.
The other runners-up were Morocco full-back Achraf Hakimi, Ivory Coast winger Simon Adingra and Guinea forward Serhou Guirassy.
Zambia forward Banda won the women’s player of the year award in recognition of her many goals for American club Orlando Pride and her country.
Banda scored four goals for Zambia at the 2024 Paris Olympics, including a hat-trick in a group-stage loss to Australia.
Her 13 regular season goals and four in play-offs helped Orlando Pride win the National Women’s Soccer League for the first time.
The runners-up were Morocco forward Sanaa Mssoudy and Nigeria goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie, who were both winners in other categories.
Award winners
Men
Player of the Year
Ademola Lookman (NGR)
Club Player of the Year
Ronwen Williams (Mamelodi Sundowns/RSA)
Goalkeeper of the Year
Ronwen Williams (RSA)
Young Player of the Year
Lamine Camara (SEN)
Coach of the Year
Emerse Fae (CIV)
National Team of the Year
Ivory Coast
Club of the Year
Al Ahly (EGY)
Best X1
Andre Onana (CMR); Achraf Hakimi (MAR), Kalidou Koulibaly (SEN), Chancel Mbemba (COD); Mohammed Kudus (GHA), Sofyan Amrabat (MAR), Franck Kessie (CIV), Yves Bissouma (MLI); Mohamed Salah (EGY), Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman (both NGR)
Women
Player of the Year
Barbra Banda (ZAM)
Club Player of the Year
Sanaa Mssoudy (FAR Rabat/MAR)
Goalkeeper of the Year
Chiamaka Nnadozie (NGR)
Young Player of the Year
Doha El Madani (MAR)
Coach of the Year
Lamia Boumehdi (TP Mazembe/COD)
National Team of the Year
Nigeria
Club of the Year
TP Mazembe
Best XI
Andile Dlamini (RSA); Michelle Alozie, Osinachi Ohale (both NGR), Lebohang Ramalepe, Karabo Dlamini; Linda Motlhalo (all RSA), Rasheedat Ajibade (NGR), Ghizlane Chebbak (MAR); Barbra Banda (ZAM), Asizat Oshoala (NGR), Tabitha Chawinga (MAW)
