The National Basketball Association (NBA) has removed Rwanda's army team from its African league.
The NBA said it removed the team because of US sanctions imposed on the country in March. The US placed sanctions on the Rwandan army, and last week, the US also imposed sanctions on Rwanda's defence ministry.
Democratic Senator Jeffrey Merkley and Republican counterpart Marsha Blackburn said the NBA risked "becoming complicit in sportswashing by accepting money from a Rwandan government that systematically abuses human rights". Rwanda denies backing the rebels despite overwhelming evidence. The NBA said the APR basketball club would remain barred while the US sanctions are in place.
NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum said the Rwandan team "had been withdrawn" from the BAL following the sanctions imposed earlier in the year. The Armée Patriotique Rwandaise (APR) club represented the country in the Basketball Africa League in 2024 and 2025, when it came third. It was replaced by the RSSB Tigers this year.
The Basketball Africa League features 12 club teams from across the continent as a professional league. Since the 2021 inaugural match, Rwanda has hosted every final and playoff match except for one.
