NBA agent Bill Duffy and a Nigerian-born agent who works for him have "launched what is thought to be the first professional basketball league in Africa," according to Liz Mullen of the SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL. The African Basketball League is "set to tip off March 4 with six teams playing in four countries." The league is the creation of Ugo Udezue, "who has worked as an NBA agent for Duffy's BDA Sports for 15 years." Duffy is a creator of, and adviser to, the ABL, "but does not have an ownership stake in it." Udezue, Nigerian businessman Ralph Tamuno, and former NBA player and BDA Sports client Obinna Ekezie "are the founding owners of the league." Udezue said, "In the history of the continent there has never been a pan-African sports league, period. The ABL will create jobs, promote African culture and sports tourism, and will be an added value to our cities." There are plans to expand in the future, "but for the first year the ABL will consist of teams in Dakar, Senegal; Abidjan, Ivory Coast; and Libreville, Gabon, and three teams in Lagos, Nigeria." Udezue said that teams "will have 12 players and will play 20 games each through June." He added that in the first year, "the players will be paid at a scale comparable to players in the NBA's D-League." Duffy said that Udezue "has made about 50 trips to Africa, pursuing his dream of starting a league there." Duffy: "He's been working as an agent here in the NBA, while he's been working part time on this" (SPORTSBUSINESS JOURNAL, issue 1/25).
