Rwanda's army team removed from Africa league after US sanctions, NBA says

The National Basketball Association (NBA) says it removed Rwanda's army team from its African league because of US sanctions imposed on the country in March.

The NBA had previously said the Rwandan army-funded Armée Patriotique Rwandaise (APR) club would not participate in the 2026 Basketball Africa League (BAL).

However this is the first time the NBA has revealed the reasons behind the APR's removal.

The association was responding to complaints by two US senators, who sent a letter asking them to reconsider their partnership with the Rwandan team. The US placed sanctions on the Rwandan army, accusing it of fuelling the conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo in March.

The senators said the NBA risked "becoming complicit in sportswashing by accepting money from a Rwandan government that systematically abuses human rights".

Last week, the US also imposed sanctions on Rwanda's defence ministry over its support for the M23 rebel group which has seized control of large parts of eastern DR Congo. Rwanda denies backing the rebels despite overwhelming evidence.

Rwanda is an official BAL partner and pays the league to host its finals at the 10,000-seat BK Arena in the capital, Kigali.

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In the letter to the NBA dated 23 October, Democratic Senator Jeffrey Merkley and Republican counterpart Marsha Blackburn gave the association until 2 November to give a written response regarding its continued partnership with Rwanda.

"What is the NBA red line for accepting money from foreign governments that commit human rights abuses?" the senators asked.

Among other queries, they also questioned how the association could "reconcile its continued partnership with Rwanda with its purported commitment to justice".

In its response, NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum said the Rwandan team "had been withdrawn" from the BAL following the sanctions imposed earlier in the year, American sports website ESPN reports.

The BAL is a pan-African basketball league established and co-organised by the NBA and the basketball's world governing body Fiba.

The NBA said the APR basketball club would remain barred while the US sanctions are in place.

The APR is one of Rwanda's top basketball teams and represented the country in the African league in 2024 and 2025, when it came third. It was replaced by the RSSB Tigers this year.

Rwanda has hosted all but one of the league's final and playoff matches since the inaugural match in 2021.

The NBA reportedly receives millions of dollars annually from the country for the marketing and partnership rights.

DR Congo has repeatedly condemned Rwanda's high-profile international sports deals, including with the NBA, European football clubs and Formula 1, asking them to end their campaigns.

It argues that these help Rwanda clean up its global image, while the conflict continues in eastern DR Congo.

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