The Rwanda Basketball League (RBL) (formerly the National Basketball League Rwanda) is the top professional basketball league in
Rwanda
Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...
. Its season usually runs from November to September. The winners of the NBL season qualify for the
qualifiers for the
Basketball Africa League
The Basketball Africa League (BAL) is Africa's premier men's basketball league. The league consists of twelve teams, each qualified through their domestic competition, similar to the format of the UEFA Champions League. The league is a joint eff ...
(BAL).
The league currently consists of 14 teams, most of them being from the country's capital
Kigali
Kigali () is the Capital (political), capital and largest city of Rwanda. It is near the nation's geographic centre in a region of rolling hills, with a series of valleys and ridges joined by steep slopes. As a primate city, Kigali has been Rwa ...
. The current champion of the NBL are
REG
Reg or REG may refer to:
* Reginald (disambiguation)
* Reg or desert pavement
* Raising for Effective Giving, a charity
* Random event generator (parapsychology)
* Raptor Education Group
* Regal Entertainment Group
* Regular language
* .reg MS Wi ...
, having won the 2022 title. REG and their rival
Patriots BBC
Patriots Basketball Club, also known as simply Patriots, is a basketball club based in Kigali, Rwanda. Established in 2014, it plays its home games at Amahoro Indoor Stadium. The team is a four-time champion of the Rwanda Basketball League (RBL).
...
have dominated the league, winning all titles since 2015.
Since the 2021–22 season, the FERWABA also organises the
Rwanda Basketball League Division 2
The Rwanda Basketball League Division 2 is the second-highest men's basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objecti ...
to which the bottom two teams of the RBL relegate.
History
Basketball was introduced in Rwanda in 1930 by Catholic priests, who first thought the sport at high schools in the
Southern Province. The following decades, the presence of the sport increased as the military and some public institutions created basketball teams. In 1974, the national basketball federation
FERWABA
The Rwandan Amateur Basketball Federation () is the governing body of basketball in Rwanda. It operates the Rwanda national basketball team as well as the top-tier NBL and other amateur leagues.
History
In 1930, basketball was first brought to R ...
was established. Three years later, in 1977, the first national league was created.
The 1994
Rwandan genocide
The Rwandan genocide occurred between 7 April and 15 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. During this period of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi minority ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were killed by armed Hutu ...
threw the sport back, because Tutsi players, spectators and administrators died and crucial infrastructure was destroyed.
In the 2000s,
APR was the dominant team in Rwanda and it participated in the
FIBA Africa Clubs Champions Cup
The FIBA Africa Basketball League (formerly named the FIBA Africa Clubs Champions Cup) was the highest caliber men's professional basketball competition for clubs until 2020, organized by the FIBA Africa and played by the champions of the league ...
thrice. Its best result was a bronze medal in 2009.
From 2011 to 2015,
Espoir BBC
Espoir BBC is a Rwandan professional basketball club based in Kigali. The club competes in Rwanda's National Basketball League.
Traditionally, the club has provided several of Africa's national teams with key players.REG
Reg or REG may refer to:
* Reginald (disambiguation)
* Reg or desert pavement
* Raising for Effective Giving, a charity
* Random event generator (parapsychology)
* Raptor Education Group
* Regal Entertainment Group
* Regular language
* .reg MS Wi ...
(owned by the
Rwanda Energy Group) and
Patriots entered the league. The two teams became rivals and played each other in the finals for several years.
In the 2020s, the
Basketball Africa League
The Basketball Africa League (BAL) is Africa's premier men's basketball league. The league consists of twelve teams, each qualified through their domestic competition, similar to the format of the UEFA Champions League. The league is a joint eff ...
(BAL) was introduced – the first editions were hosted by the BK Arena in Kigali. Patriots finished in fourth place in the inaugural 2021 season.
Current teams
The following teams will play in the 2022–23 season:
Sources:
Champions
Performance by club
Individual awards
Most Valuable Player
* 2012:
Aristide Mugabe
Aristide Mugabe (born 11 February 1988) is a Rwandan professional basketball player for Patriots of the RBL. Starting his career with Rusizi, Mugabe signed with Espoir in 2009 and helped the team win four RBL championships while winning two MV ...
(Espoir)
* 2013: Bienvenu Ngandu
* 2014: Mike Buzangu (Cercle Sportif de Kigali)
*2017–18:
Sedar Sagamba
The Canadian Securities Administrators (CSA; , ACVM) is an umbrella organization of Canada's provincial and territorial securities regulators whose objective is to improve, coordinate, and harmonize regulation of the Canadian capital markets.
...
(Patriots)
*2018–19:
Dieudonné Ndizeye (
Patriots)
*2020–21:
Olivier Shyaka
Olivier Shyaka (born 14 August 1995) is a Rwandan basketball player who plays for REG BBC club of the NBL Rwanda. He also plays for the Rwanda national basketball team.
Club career
Since 2018, Shyaka plays for REG BBC. In the 2020–21 season, ...
(
REG
Reg or REG may refer to:
* Reginald (disambiguation)
* Reg or desert pavement
* Raising for Effective Giving, a charity
* Random event generator (parapsychology)
* Raptor Education Group
* Regal Entertainment Group
* Regular language
* .reg MS Wi ...
)
*2021–22:
Axel Mpoyo
Axel may refer to:
People
* Axel (name), all persons with the name
Places
* Axel, Netherlands, a town
** Capture of Axel, a battle at Axel in 1586
Arts, entertainment, media
* ''Axel'', a 1988 short film by Nigel Wingrove
* ''Axel'', a Cirque d ...
(REG)
Team of the Year
In African competitions
Each year, the champions of the NBL were placed for the qualifiers of the
FIBA Africa Basketball League
The FIBA Africa Basketball League (formerly named the FIBA Africa Clubs Champions Cup) was the highest caliber men's professional basketball competition for clubs until 2020, organized by the FIBA Africa and played by the champions of the league ...
, the premiere pan-African competition. Since 2020, this league is replaced by the
Basketball Africa League
The Basketball Africa League (BAL) is Africa's premier men's basketball league. The league consists of twelve teams, each qualified through their domestic competition, similar to the format of the UEFA Champions League. The league is a joint eff ...
(BAL). The following list shows Rwandan teams which played in a main tournament:
In the Basketball Africa League
See also
*
Rwandan Heroes Cup The Heroes Cup is an annual basketball cup competition for the premier teams in Rwanda. The Heroes Cup tournaments are organised by their respective federations in partnership with the Chancellery for Heroes, National Orders and Decorations of Hono ...
*
FERWABA
The Rwandan Amateur Basketball Federation () is the governing body of basketball in Rwanda. It operates the Rwanda national basketball team as well as the top-tier NBL and other amateur leagues.
History
In 1930, basketball was first brought to R ...
Notes
References
External links
Rwandaat
AfroBasket.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:National Basketball League
Basketball competitions in Rwanda
Basketball leagues in Africa
Sports leagues established in 1977
1977 establishments in Rwanda