NBA commissioner David Stern announced during the league's all-star weekend that the league will open an office in Africa in the spring of 2010. The office will be led by Amadou Fall who has been the Vice President of Development for the NBA in Africa. Fall and his staff will work with local Basketball federations to grow participation in the game, and will develop the NBA’s grassroots events, NBA Cares programs and expand its partnerships with marketing, media and consumer products companies.   Fall has been an executive with the Dallas Mavericks for the past 12 years and the native of Senegal has been immersed in Basketball since arriving in the USA to play College Basketball and then in leading the Senegalese national team to the 1997 African championship.                       

The NBA has been working in Africa for nearly two decades.  NBA games have been televised on ESPN in Africa since the 1994-95 season and fans today can also watch NBA programming through Canal + Africa, CAfrica Sports, and Al Jazeera.     “There is tremendous potential to grow the game in Africa and the opening of an NBA office will help us to expand our business in the region,” said Stern.  “We have conducted Basketball without Borders Africa since 2003 and with a presence on the ground we can enhance our ability to increase our social responsibility efforts and develop more activities to engage our fans.”         

For seven consecutive years, the NBA and FIBA have conducted Basketball without Borders Africa, a basketball instructional camp for young people that also promotes leadership, education, sportsmanship and healthy living. More than 100 NBA players and other personnel, along with more than 500 campers have participated since the camp’s inauguration including Milwaukee Bucks’ Luc Mbah a Moute from Cameroon.