NBA Egypt office officially opened

The National Basketball Association (NBA) has launched their new African fourth office in Cairo,Egypt in an exercise that was presided over by their continental branch chief executive Victor Williams.

The new Cairo office will add to the three other NBA Africa regional offices in Johannesburg (South Africa), Lagos (Nigeria) and Dakar (Senegal).

Earlier last year, Cairo’s Hassan Mostafa Indoor Sports Complex served as the host venue of the Basketball Africa League’s Nile Conference group phase and the 18th edition of Basketball Without Borders Africa, the NBA and FIBA’s global basketball development and community outreach program. 

"The launch of our fourth African office in Cairo reflects our belief in the enormous potential for basketball and NBA in Egypt" noted Williams

The former captain of the Egyptian National Basketball Team, Olympian and accomplished executive with more than 20 years of commercial and manufacturing experience Mohamed Abdel-Motaleb Soliman was named the head of NBA Egypt.

The new office will oversee the league’s basketball and business development initiatives in Egypt, including grassroots programming for youth and elite players, relationships with current and prospective marketing, media and merchandise partners, and social responsibility efforts across the country.

In 2020,NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced the appointment of Williams whose  new role will entail  monitoring the league's basketball and business development initiatives in Africa besides ensuring  growth and  popularity of the sport on the continent.

Williams has previously served as the executive head of corporate and investment banking, Africa regions, for Standard Bank Group.

Basketball Africa League (BAL) is a joint project between the NBA and FIBA, basketball’s world governing body that hopes to tap into a market with a huge, tech-savvy and youthful population, while also giving African hoopers the platform to showcase their talent on the continent and a potential path to one day star in the US.

Those who have shown their support for the league include Dikembe  Mutumbo– the Congolese star who played nearly two decades in the NBA,former United States of America President Barack Obama, NBA commissioner Adam Silver and some of Africa’s top businessmen.