In a significant announcement, the West African Basketball Classic (WABC), a competition for Basketball clubs in West Africa will debut in 2024.
WABC marks the beginning of competitive basketball action across West Africa after its unveiling during a press conference on Thursday, 1 February.
WABC VISION
Revealing the exciting details about its inaugural edition, the WABC President, Olumide Oyedeji, announced the selection of six teams to partake in this groundbreaking project, marking the formation of the WABC.
What we trying to do is to put basketball at every doorstep in West Africa alongside FIBA Africa Zone 3 led by Retd. Col Sam Ahmedu taking basketball beyond borders and culture. The idea is to complement the local game of every participating country. Olumide Oyedeji
The participating clubs include Gidi Giants and Kwara Falcons from Nigeria, ASPAC and ELAN Coton from Benin Republic, Customs from Ghana, and Swallows from Togo.
West African Basketball Classic Model
The West African Basketball Classic is an independent group comprising Nigeria, Benin Republic, Ghana, and Togo.
The group seeks to advance club basketball in the region under the FIBA Africa Zone 3 umbrella.
Speaking on the competition model, Oyedeji insists WABC is out to help complement the efforts of the big leagues.
“WABC is different from BAL as we are taking the games to all the countries. We are going to stream all the games through our WABC TV channel on YouTube. We are trying to promote basketball by giving the players a sense of belonging and making the fans enjoy basketball.”
Meanwhile, the initial phase will hold in Togo from February 24 to March 2nd. The second phase will happen in Benin Republic in April. The Final Four is slated for June 8th to June 12th in Ghana, with the grand finale in Abuja.
Furthermore, the competition format will feature round-robin games during the group stages, intensifying the thrill and competition among the participating teams.
Notably, a championship trophy and medals await the top-performing team, first runner-up, and second runner-up. Also, the winner will embark on a playing tour of China courtesy of PEAK.