US Sanctions Bar Rwanda Army Club From BAL

The National Basketball Association has confirmed that Rwanda's army-funded APR club was barred from the 2026 Basketball Africa League because of US sanctions, ending months of uncertainty over why one of the country's strongest teams missed this season's competition.

The explanation came in a letter from NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum to two United States senators who had pressed the league to reconsider its partnership with Rwanda. Tatum wrote that APR, formally known as Armée Patriotique Rwandaise, had been withdrawn after Washington imposed sanctions on the Rwandan military, and that the club would remain "ineligible to compete in the BAL while these sanctions remain in effect".

Senators Jeff Merkley, an Oregon Democrat, and Marsha Blackburn, a Tennessee Republican, sent their letter on 23 October and gave the league until 2 November to respond in writing. The reply was reported by ESPN on 3 November, and the BBC first reported the NBA's confirmation the following day. The BBC noted that the league had previously announced the club's absence without giving a reason.

The senators wrote to NBA commissioner Adam Silver that they were "increasingly alarmed by the NBA's deepening relationship with Rwanda". In the letter, they warned that the league risked becoming "complicit in sportswashing" by accepting money from a government they said systematically abuses human rights, and asked how the partnership squared with the league's stated commitment to justice.

Why the club was removed

The United States Treasury Department imposed sanctions on the Rwanda Defence Force and four senior military officials in March, accusing them of supporting the M23 armed group in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. Washington imposed further sanctions on Rwanda's defence ministry last week over alleged support for the same group. Rwanda denies backing the rebels.

In their letter, the senators said the group's fighters had "summarily executed hundreds of civilians" and recruited child soldiers in eastern Congo. The claim sits at the centre of the dispute over the league's business in Rwanda, and the senators argued that the NBA's commercial ties to Kigali could not be separated from the conflict across the border.

Tatum defended the wider partnership in his reply. He wrote that the league follows American policy in deciding where and how it operates, and that it condemns human rights violations wherever they occur. He closed by pledging that the league would keep adjusting "to changed circumstances as U.S. policy requires."

A partnership under pressure

Rwanda remains an official partner of the league and pays to host its finals at the 10,000-seat BK Arena in Kigali. Eurohoops reported that the NBA receives millions of dollars a year through marketing and partnership agreements with the country, according to the BBC.

APR is funded by the Rwandan army and is affiliated with the country's Ministry of Defence. The club represented Rwanda in the BAL in 2024 and 2025, finishing third in its second appearance, and was replaced in this season's 12-team competition by the RSSB Tigers, another Rwandan side, which went on to win the championship.

The BAL is a pan-African competition run jointly by the NBA and FIBA, basketball's world governing body. Kigali hosts nearly all of the league's finals, and the finals arrangement has put the Rwandan capital at the centre of the competition's calendar. A syndicated copy of the BBC report notes that the league had previously announced only that APR would not take part, without explaining the decision. The NBA's week also featured a record night from Victor Wembanyama, whose 52-point game carried San Antonio past Dallas.

The league's business dealings have drawn attention on other fronts. The Lakers ownership dispute between members of the Buss family is heading to court, while Mark Walter has moved to sell the LA Sparks and an F1 stake after buying the Lakers.

Senator Merkley said in a statement that Tatum's response "is hard to reconcile with the facts". He added: "The United States is escalating sanctions on Rwanda for fueling conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the league's answer is to double down on its partnership with the government responsible."

The BBC said it had asked the Rwandan government for comment. For now, APR's route back into the competition depends on developments in American sanctions policy, and the NBA has announced no plan to end its broader commercial relationship with Rwanda.