Twenty-Five Basketball Coaches from 15 African Countries Selected for NBA 2K25 Summer League; Five Players Who Featured in the 2024 BAL Season (https://BAL.NBA.com/) to Compete in Las Vegas.

Twenty-five basketball coaches from 15 African countries have been selected to participate in the NBA 2K25 Summer League which will take place in Las Vegas, Nevada from July 12 -22, 2024.  The selected coaches form part of the Africa Coaches Program, which builds on NBA Africa’s and Basketball Africa League’s (BAL) commitment to building capacity and expertise of coaches from across the continent, improving the quality of the on-court product, and contributing to the continued growth of basketball on the continent.  Eight of the coaches represent teams that have participated in the BAL.

Please see below for some of the notable storylines, followed by the full roster of the African coaches, players, and referees who will take part in the Summer League.

African Coaches Program

Building Continuity

Six teams that took part in the 2024 BAL season will have at least one coach participating – Al Ahly (Egypt), Bangui Sporting Club (Central Africa Republic) City Oilers (Uganda), FUS de Rabat (Morocco), Rivers Hoopers (Nigeria), and US Monastir (Tunisia). 
Sixteen of the 24 coaches will take part in the Africa Coaches Program for the first time.
Rivers Hoopers head coach Ogoh Odaudu was named 2024 BAL Coach of the Year and led his team to a third-place finish this season.  Rivers Hoopers’ head coach since 2009, Odaudu coached the team to five Nigerian Premier League titles.  Since 2019, Odaudu has been a member of the coaching staff on the Nigerian national team. 
Two coaches – Francois Enyegue (Cameroon; San Antonio Spurs) and Emmanuel Mavomo (Democratic Republic of the Congo; Milwaukee Bucks) – return to the Summer League for a third consecutive year.  Last year, they coached with the Orlando Magic and Utah Jazz, respectively.  Enyegue is currently the head coach of Bangui Sporting Club (Central Africa Republic) and served as head coach of Team Africa&Middle East Girls at the Jr. NBA Global Championship in 2018.  Mavomo is NBA G League’s Austin Spurs assistant coach and served as an assistant coach of Paris Basketball and BC Espoir Fukash during the 2022 BAL season.

Empowering the Next Generation

Three players with BAL experience who have decided to take up a career in coaching will be part of this year’s program.  John Wilkins (Rivers Hoopers), Mohamed Gaddour (US Monastir), and Radouane Slimane (US Monastir) will respectively join the Phoenix Suns, Los Angeles Clippers, and Miami Heat.

NBA Academy Africa Well-Represented

NBA Academy Africa players development coaches Goitsemang Ditsheko (South Africa) and Karim Nesba (Morocco) will coach with the Houston Rockets and the Sacramento Kings respectively.  Based at the NBA Academy Africa in Saly, Senegal since 2022, Ditsheko is part of the academy coaching staff who worked with NBA Academy Africa’s first NBA draftee, Cameroon’s Ulrich Chomche, selected with the number 57 overall by the Memphis Grizzlier and traded to the Toronto Raptors in the 2024 NBA Draft.  While enrolled at NBA Academy Africa, Chomche competed in the BAL as part of the BAL Elevate program, representing Rwanda Energy Group Basketball (REGBBC) in 2023 and Cameroon’s Forces Armées et Police (FAP) in 2022.  Karim Nesba is a former AS Salé and Morocco National Team player.  He coached the Uganda City Oilers in the 2024 BAL season and the BAL Select Team at Quai 54 this summer.  NBA Academy Africa Alumni Ibou Badji (Senegal) and Babacar Sané (Senegal) will be playing with the Milwaukee Bucks and Utah Jazz respectively. Badji who signed a two-way contract with Portland Trail Blazers last season, played 22 games in the 2023-24 NBA season. Sané former BAL Elevate player has played with the G League Ignite since 2022.

Female Participants

For the first time, three female coaches will participate in the Africa Coaches Program – Sofia Bey (Morocco; Sacramento Kings), Aliaa Mahmoud Mohamed (Egypt; Washington Wizards), Ruth Bibeyi (Gabon; Los Angeles Lakers).  They join the Africa Coaches Program as part of NBA Africa’s and the BAL’s efforts to provide more opportunities for women in basketball.  
Sofia Bey (Morocco, Sacramento Kings) is the head coach of Wydad Athletic in Morocco.  Bey participated 2022 FIBA Africa Regional Youth Camp and was selected for the FIBA Young Coach program in 2015.
Ruth Bibeyi (Gabon; Los Angeles Lakers) was the head coach of Espoir Basket Club (Gabon) which participated in Road to the BAL 2023.  Aliaa Mahmoud (Egypt, Washington Wizards) was the assistant coach of FIBA U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup 2023.

Please see below for the complete list of African coaches participating in the NBA 2K25 Summer League and the NBA teams coaching staff they have joined.

First name

Last name

Country of origin

NBA Team

Mohamed Lamine

Kriedeche

Algeria

New Orleans Pelicans

Stef

Pare

Burkina Faso

Orlando Magic

Francois

Enyengue

Cameroon

San Antonio Spurs

Victor

Samnick

Cameroon

Denver Nuggets

Pierrot

Ilunga

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Toronto Raptors

Emmanuel

Mavomo

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Milwaukee Bucks

Ahmed

Elgarhi

Egypt

Minnesota Timberwolves

Alia

Mahmoud

Egypt

Washington Wizards

Ruth

Bibeyi

Gabon

Los Angeles Lakers

Ahmed

Salam

Morocco

Atlanta Hawks

John

Wilkins

Morocco

Phoenix Suns

Sofia

Bey

Morocco

Sacramento Kings

Karim

Nesba

Morocco

Sacramento Kings

Leonel

Manhique

Mozambique

Brooklyn Nets

Ogoh

Odaudu

Nigeria

Cleveland Cavaliers

Mohamed

Abdulrahman

Nigeria

Utah Jazz

Mugisha Igor

Keys

Rwanda

Boston Celtics

Prosper

Naci

Rwanda

Philadelphia 76ers

Matar

Mbodji

Senegal

Chicago Bulls

Goitsemang

Ditsheko

South Africa

Houston Rockets

Akech Wuoi Garang

Ajak

South Sudan

New York Knicks

Bechir

Hadidane

Tunisia

Memphis Grizzlies

Mhamed

Gaddour

Tunisia

Los Angeles Clippers

Radouane

Slimane

Tunisia

Miami Heat

Andrew

Senyondwa

Uganda

Trailblazers Portland

BAL Season 4 Players*

Five players who played in the 2024 BAL season are set to feature in this year’s Summer League: Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. (South Sudan; Sacramento Kings), Samkelo Cele (South Africa; New York Knicks), Obadiah Noel (USA; New York Knicks) Devine Eke (Nigeria, Milwaukee Bucks), and Makhtar Gueye (Senegal; Atlanta Hawks).

Lual-Acuil Jr. averaged 21.1 points, 9.9 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks during the last BAL season, helping Al Ahly Ly (Libya) to the 2024 BAL Finals.  Lual-Acuil Jr. won the Hakeem Olajuwon Trophy as the 2024 BAL Most Valuable Player and the Dikembe Mutombo Trophy as the Defensive Player of the Year.  Lual-Acuil Jr. also emerged as the 2024 BAL Scoring Champion and was named to the 2024 All-BAL First Team and the All-BAL Defensive Team.
Cele averaged 20.2 points per game and finished second in scoring in the league.  He led South Africa’s Cape Town Tigers to the semifinals and was named to both the 2024 All-BAL First Team and All-Defensive Team.
Obadiah averaged 19.4 points and 4.2 rebounds per game with Armée Patriotique Rwandaise basketball (APR; Rwanda) in the Sahara Conference last season.
Eke registered 16.6 points and 11.3 rebounds per game, leading Nigeria’s Rivers Hoopers to third place in the last BAL season.
Gueye represented Burundi’s Dynamo Basketball Club in the inaugural Kalahari Conference last season.
Cele and Gueye were part of the BAL Select team that featured at the 2024 Quai 54 Streetball Tournament, the world’s biggest streetball tournament in Paris, France, last month.

*Rosters are subject to change.

Referees with BAL Experience

Five referees who officiated in the 2024 BAL season will also join the program, including Annie Joyce Muchenu (Zimbabwe).  Muchenu became a FIBA international referee in September 2008 and was appointed to officiate at the FIBA Women’s Champions Cup in Nairobi, Kenya the same year.  She has since officiated at major competitions on the African continent including junior and senior tournaments but has also officiated at two All Africa Games (2011 and 2015), three FIBA U-17 World Cups, two FIBA U-19 World Cups, pre-Olympic Qualifiers and the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Gold Coast, Australia, and the BAL since the beginning of the competition.  

Please see below the complete list of African referees:

NAME

COUNTRY

Oumar Sy

Mauritania

Yann Davidson

Madagascar

Annie Joyce Muchenu

Zimbabwe

Vitalis Gode

Kenya (Referee Supervisor)

Silver Houngbedji

Benin

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Basketball Africa League (BAL).

Heavy conflict erupted last April between rival militaries over a proposed transition to civilian rule, following a military coup in 2021 and the 2019 ousting of long-time President Omar Al-Bashir.

UN Geneva spokesperson Alessandra Vellucci confirmed that only one of the delegations attended the initial discussions after senior representatives from the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces accepted invitations to meet the UN Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra.

‘Proximity’ talks to continue

Despite Thursday’s setback, Mr. Lamamra and his team invited both parties to continue discussions with him separately on Friday in the Swiss city, in a process known as proximity talks.

“The engagements continue today”, said Ms. Vellucci, Director of the UN Information Service at UN Geneva. “We urge them to participate…The humanitarian situation in Sudan is deteriorating by the day. So, we really need to look at the devastating impact that this has on the civilian population. And we urge the delegations to rise up to this challenge and engage in constructive discussions.”

Humanitarian emergency

The development comes amid increasing international pressure for an end to the fighting, which has uprooted millions and sparked growing fears of imminent famine.

The humanitarian community has also warned about the widespread upheaval caused by the conflict which spread quickly from the capital, Khartoum, to other regions including Darfur, leaving nearly 25 million people – half of Sudan’s population – requiring aid.

More than 14,000 people are believed to have been killed and 33,000 injured amid ongoing heavy fighting, which has also created the world’s largest displacement crisis. Over 11 million people have been forced to flee their homes and international experts recently warned that 755,000 people face famine in the coming months.

‘Unprecedented’ rights abuses

Top independent human rights expert on Sudan, Radhouane Nouicer, also sounded the alarm on Friday, warning that the scale of human rights violations and abuses in Sudan was unprecedented”.

After visiting Port Sudan. Mr. Nouicer – who does not work for the UN and reports to the Human Rights Council – called on the Sudanese authorities to protect civilians, allow unhindered humanitarian access, stop arbitrary arrests and ensure accountability for human rights violations. He stressed the need for a comprehensive peace process and international implementation of an arms embargo on Sudan, imposed by the Security Council in 2005.

Sudan: WFP responds to new displacement crisis

Meanwhile, as fighting continues further into Sudan’s east, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) announced that it was scaling up assistance to displaced people in Sennar state.

Clashes around Sinja town – reportedly seized by the RSF on 29 June – have forced tens of thousands to flee, worsening Sudan’s hunger crisis, WFP warned. Many people have been displaced for the second or third time since the conflict started as Sennar state is home to families who earlier fled from Khartoum or Al Jazirah.

WFP has prepositioned more than 2,200 metric tons of food for newly displaced families and is helping 40,000 in Blue Nile and 3,000 in Gedaref. But the violence in eastern Sudan is threatening to cut off key humanitarian routes from Port Sudan and complicate aid delivery, UN aid teams have warned.

South Sudan lifeline

Thousands more people from Sudan are also expected to flee to South Sudan where resources are already scarce. WFP reported that 1,000 people per day are still entering the border town of Renk; to help, the UN agency has scaled up assistance and now supports 1.4 million people with food and cash assistance, with  91 new points of aid distribution opened in Sudan.

WFP has continued to transfer food from Kosti to other locations in preparation for more access constraints due to the fighting.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of UN News.

The East African Community (EAC) has deployed 14 Election Observation Teams to observe the General Election due in the Republic of Rwanda on Monday, 15th July, 2024.

Flagging off the Election Observation Teams from the Head of the Mission headquarters in Kigali this morning, Chief Justice (Emeritus) David K. Maraga, who is also a former Chief Justice of the Republic of Kenya, said that the Mission was deploying the observation teams to all the 30 districts in the four (4) provinces and the City of Kigali.

CJ Maraga said that since the Mission’s arrival in Kigali on 8th July, 2024, the observers have been interacting with various electoral stakeholders in the country to further understand the preparations for the electoral process, including training on principles, practices and ethos of regional and International Election Observation.

“Prior to the arrival of the larger team, the EAC had an advance team that carried out a detailed and technical analysis of the preparations and measures being undertaken by various institutions, agencies and stakeholders in the country. The findings from this analysis have formed the basis of further strategies for election observation, including the deployment of teams across the country to observe the polls,” said retired Chief Justice.

The Head of Mission said that through the preparatory activities and engagements, the Mission had acquainted itself with the electoral environment prevailing and the context within which Rwandans will be exercising their democratic rights.

CJ Maraga said that the 55-strong EAC Observer Mission drawn from the EAC Partner States and the East African Legislative Assembly would be dispatched to all parts of Rwanda where they will observe the elections with a view to: assessing the level of preparedness and participation of electoral stakeholders for the election and the level of compliance with the electoral processes and management to the international, regional and national established laws, principles and practices.

“The Observers will also assess adherence to the democratic principles of the EAC as enshrined in the Treaty and offer objective recommendations for continuous improvement for the conduct of such elections.”

The Head of Mission disclosed that the observation teams were expected back at the mission headquarters in Kigali on 16th July, 2024.

“The field reports filed by the observation teams will enable us to prepare a Preliminary Statement of the EAC Election Observation Mission, which shall be released on 17th July, 2024. The mission will depart the Republic of Rwanda on 18th July, 2024,” he said.

CJ Maraga said that the mission had so far observed a generally calm electoral, political and security environment ahead of polling day.

“For this, we wish to thank the political leadership, the people of Rwanda and the institutions managing the electoral processes in the country,” said the Head of Mission, adding that a peaceful and successful general election will not just be a victory for Rwanda but the entire EAC.

Present at the flagging off ceremony were the Deputy Head of Mission and EALA MP, Hon. Siranda Gerald Blacks, EAC Secretary General H.E. Veronica Nduva, the EAC Deputy Secretary General in charge of Infrastructure, Productive, Social and Political Sectors, Hon. Andrea Ariik Aguer Malueth, EALA MPs and Observers, and EAC Members of Staff.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of East African Community.

Global energy companies and financial entities including Africa Oil Corp.,Standard Bank and the Liberia Petroleum Regulatory Authority (LPRA) addressed Africa’s premier energy sector opportunities at the Invest in African Energy reception in London on Thursday, organized by the African Energy Chamber (www.EnergyChamber.org).

The reception affirmed rising interest in Africa’s energy resources, uniting interested investors from the UK, US, Europe and global markets to access and engage with Africa’s energy prospects, as well as unpacking latest project developments across the continent. Moderated by Susan D. Maples, Partner at international law firm Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt&Mosle, a dynamic panel discussion targeted where investors should direct their attention.

“By all metrics, there is an outrageous imbalance between Africa’s reality and potential, and its perception in and outside of the continent,” said ⁠Paul Eardley-Taylor, Oil and Gas Sector Coverage, Standard Bank. “In most African countries [Standard Bank] is present, the market’s banking limit is about $300 million for any given project. This means that – other than South Africa and Nigeria – all large oil and gas projects need funding from multiple sources.” 

Key exploration hotspots were highlighted across the continent, with a focus on southern and West Africa. High unmet regional energy demand – coupled with untapped hydrocarbon resources, competitive fiscal terms and an enabling environment – have made these markets attractive destinations for global capital, technology and expertise.

“Namibia is a world-class hydrocarbon province – it’s early days, but very encouraging. There’s a fantastic opportunity to build a big economy that’s good for people and develops local content,” said Oliver Quinn, CCO of Canadian oil and gas company Africa Oil Corp., who holds a stake in the Venus discovery in Namibia’s Orange Basin.

“South Africa also has a big chunk of the Orange Basin, which has yet to be drilled, but there are plans to do so in the coming future… Nigeria has introduced a new petroleum act, which reflects what’s required for the energy transition, as well as attractive and stable fiscal terms. It has a very effective sector and a significant resource base left to go,” continued Quinn. 

Contractual stability and sanctity – as well as built-in local content development that stimulates job creation and allocates funds to local businesses and contractors – were also identified as critical factors to Africa’s future energy sector growth.

“[Liberia] is stable, we have a fast-tracked code for corruption, and the time limit to process everything is short – we call it a ‘one-stop shop.’ Now is the time to invest,” said Marilyn T. Logan, LPRA Director General.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Energy Chamber.