Nigeria’s Maktown Flyers set to make debut in 2026 BAL season group phase

by Devesh Jaganath

image Nigeria’s Maktown Flyers set to make debut in 2026 BAL season group phase
The Basketball Africa League have officially released the names of the 12 teams that will participate in the group phase of the 2026 BAL season. The tournament will tip off on March 27 at the SunBet Arena in South Africa, and this year’s edition will see five teams making their debut, including Maktown Flyers of Nigeria.

Maktown Flyers: From humble beginnings to continental competition 

The 2026 Basketball Africa League is now less than a month away from tipping off, and Season 6, which we will be covering in our basketball predictions from March 27, is shaping up to be the most competitive in the tournament’s history. 

Five new teams are set to join the continent’s heavyweights in the group phase of this season, including the Maktown Flyers, a basketball club from Nigeria that emerged from a development academy launched less than three years ago with a focus to nurture young talent. 

In August 2025, the organisation took the step into professional competition by acquiring Lagos Legends - a top-light Nigerian club - and rebranded it as Maktwon Flyers. In their first pro season, they defied the odds by winning the Nigerian Premier League championship. 

Winning the Nigerian Premier League championship earned Maktown Flyers direct qualification for the 2026 BAL group phase alongside four other tournament debutants from Tanzania, South Africa, Tunisia and the Ivory Coast. 

2026 BAL Group Phase teams and schedule 

Season 6 of the BAL will feature the top 12 club teams from 12 African countries. The tournament will feature 42 games across the Kalahari Conference (March 27 - April 5) and the Sahara Conference (April 24 - May 3). 

In addition to Nigeria’s representatives Maktown Flyers, the remaining four debutants in the competition include Dar City (Tanzania), JCA Kings (Ivory Coast), Johannesburg Giants (South Africa) and Club Africain (Tunisia). Speaking at the official team announcement, BAL president Amadou Gallo Fall said: 

“Welcoming five new teams into the BAL family is a powerful sign of the league’s continued growth and the impact it is having on the African basketball ecosystem. We look forward to engaging our passionate fans in South Africa, Morocco, Rwanda and those watching across Africa and around the world.”

This year’s debutants have a massive task on their hands, as they will go up against established powerhouses from across Africa, including the 2024 BAL champions and the only team to feature in every season, Petro de Luanda, as well as 2023 BAL winners Al Ahly of Egypt. 

Kalahari Conference

Sahara Conference

Johannesburg Giants (South Africa)

Fath Union Sport Rabat (FUS Rabat; Morocco)

Al Ahly Ly (Libya)Al Ahly (Egypt)
Armee Patriotique Rwandaise Basketball Club (APR; Rwanda)

ASC Ville de Dakar (Senegal)

Dar City (Tanzania)

Club Africain (Tunisia)

Nairobi City Thunder (Kenya)

JCA Kings (Ivory Coast)

Petro de Luanda (Angola)

Maktown Flyers (Nigeria)