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| Organising body | FERWABA |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1977 |
| First season | 1977 |
| Country | Rwanda |
| Number of teams | 10 |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| Relegation to | Rwanda Basketball League Division 2 |
| Domestic cup | Rwanda Cup |
| Supercup | Rwanda Super Cup |
| International cup | Basketball Africa League (BAL) |
| Current champions | APR (16th title) (2025) |
| Most championships | APR (16 titles) |
 2025 RBL season | |
TheRwanda Basketball League (RBL) (formerly theNational Basketball League Rwanda) is the top professional basketball league inRwanda.[1] Its season usually runs from November to September. The winners of the NBL season qualify for thequalifiers for theBasketball Africa League (BAL).
The league currently consists of 10 teams, most of them being from the country's capitalKigali. The current champion of the RBL areAPR, who are the league’s most decorated team with a record 16 championships. Other notable teams areREG and their rivalsPatriots, who have been powerhouses in recent years.
Since the 2021–22 season, the FERWABA also organises theRBL Division 2 to which the bottom two teams of the RBL relegate.[2]
Basketball was introduced in Rwanda in 1930 by Catholic priests, who first taught the sport at high schools in theSouthern Province. The following decades, the presence of the sport increased as the military and some public institutions created basketball teams. In 1974, the national basketball federationFERWABA was established. Three years later, in 1977, the first national league was created.[3]
The 1994Rwandan genocide threw the sport back, because Tutsi players, spectators and administrators died and crucial infrastructure was destroyed.[3]
In the 2000s,APR was the dominant team in Rwanda and it participated in theFIBA Africa Clubs Champions Cup thrice. Its best result was a bronze medal in 2009.
From 2011 to 2015,Espoir BBC won four straight national titles. From then, two newly established teamsREG (owned by theRwanda Energy Group) andPatriots entered the league. The two teams became rivals and played each other in the finals for several years.
In the 2020s, theBasketball Africa League (BAL) was introduced – the first editions were hosted by the BK Arena in Kigali. Patriots finished in fourth place in the inaugural 2021 season. The league changed its name to theRwanda Basketball League (RBL) in 2023. FERWABA introduced two new competitions, theRwanda Cup and the Rwanda Super Cup, for the 2024 season.[4]
The league games in the regular season are usually stated in theLycée de Kigali's indoor hall, which can seat 1,500 spectators, after it was revamped byFERWABA and NBA Africa in 2023.[5] Other games are played atKepler University's indoor hall. Playoffs games are usually held at the 10,000-seaterBK Arena (formerly the Kigali Arena), which was opened in 2019.[6] Another hall that is used is thePetit Arena, which was recently renovated to hold 1,500 people.
The following teams will play in the2025 BAL season:
| Team | City | Founded | Joined |
|---|---|---|---|
| APR | Kigali | 1993 | |
| Azomco Global Flame | Bugesera | 2022 | 2025 |
| Espoir | Kigali | 2003 | |
| Flame | |||
| Patriots | 2014 | ||
| Kepler | 2022 | 2024 | |
| REG | 2016 | ||
| Orion BBC | 2022 | 2023 | |
| Tigers | 2019 | ||
| UGB | 1998 | ||
Sources:[7]
The following is a list of all documented Rwandan top-flight league champions:[9]
The following is a list of the league's final playoff series, or if not applicable the season's final standings.
| Season | Champions | Runners-up | Finals score | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Marines | CSK | ||
| 2007–08 | APR | Marines | ||
| 2008–09 | APR | |||
| 2009–10 | Kigali Basketball Club | APR | N/a | |
| 2010–11 | Kigali Basketball Club | |||
| 2011–12 | Espoir (1) | KBC | 3–1 | [11] |
| 2012–13 | Espoir (2) | APR | 3–0 | |
| 2013–14 | Espoir (3) | APR | N/a | |
| 2014–15 | Espoir (4) | Patriots | 3–1 | [12] |
| 2015–16 | Patriots (1) | Espoir | N/a | |
| 2016–17 | Patriots (2) | REG | 3–1 | [13] |
| 2017–18 | Patriots (2) | REG | 3–2 | [14] |
| 2018–19 | Patriots (3) | REG | 4–3 | [15] |
| 2019–20 | Patriots (4) | REG | 76–61 | [16] |
| 2020–21 | REG (1) | Patriots | 2–0 | [17] |
| 2021–22 | REG (2) | Patriots | 3–2 | [18] |
| 2023 | APR (14) | REG | 4–0 | [19] |
| 2024 | APR (15) | Patriots | 4–2 | [20] |
| 2025 | APR (16) | REG | 4–2 | [21] |
| Club | Wins | Runners-up | Seasons won | Seasons runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| APR | 16 | 2 | 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2008, 2009,2023,2024,2025 | 2013, 2014 |
| Espoir | 5 | 1 | 2004, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 | 2016 |
| Patriots | 4 | 4 | 2016, 2018, 2019, 2020 | 2017, 2021,2022,2024 |
| REG | 3 | 5 | 2017, 2021,2022 | 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020,2023,2025 |
| Kigali Basketball Club | 2 | 1 | 2010, 2011 | 2012 |
| Marines | 1 | 1 | 2007 | 2008 |
After each RBL season, one player is named theMost valuable player of the competition.Olivier Shyaka is the only player to have won at least two MVP awards. Since the2023 season, the RBL has an award for the best player in the regular season, as well as a separate one for the best player in the playoffs.
| Season | Player | Club | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Season MVP | |||
| 2012 | Aristide Mugabe | Espoir | [22] |
| 2013 | Bienvenu Ngandu | Espoir (2) | [11] |
| 2014 | Mike Buzangu | Cercle Sportif de Kigali | [22] |
| 2015 | Olivier Shyaka | Espoir (3) | [12] |
| 2016 | Kubwimana Kazingufu Ali | Patriots | [23] |
| 2017 | Kami Kabange | REG | [13] |
| 2018 | Sedar Sagamba | Patriots (2) | |
| 2019 | Dieudonné Ndizeye | Patriots (3) | [24] |
| 2021 | Olivier Shyaka (2) | REG (2) | [17] |
| 2022 | Axel Mpoyo | REG (3) | [25] |
| Regular Season MVP | |||
| 2023 | Olivier Turatsinze | Espoir (4) | [26] |
| 2024 | Chad Jordan | Kepler | [27] |
Since 2023, the league also gives an award to the best performing player of the playoffs.
| Season | Player | Club | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Jean Jacques Nshobozwabyosenumukiza | APR | [28] |
| 2024 | Isaiah Miller | [20] | |
| 2025 | Youssou Ndoye | [21] |
| Season | Player | Club | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Frank Kamdoh | UGB | [29] |
| 2024 | Pitchou Kambuy Manga | REG | [27] |
| Season | Player | Club | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Fabrice "Musinza" Muhoza | Espoir | [27] |
Players inbold were named the season's Most Valuable Player.
| Season | Players | Coach of the Year | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PG | SG | SF | PF | C | ||
| 2014–15[12] | Aristide Mugabe(Espoir) | Mike Buzangu(KBC) | Lionnel Hakizimana(Espoir) | Olivier Shyaka(Espoir) | Bienvenue Ngandu(Espoir) | |
| 2016–17 | Aristide Mugabe(Patriots) | Benjamin Mukengerwa(REG) | Dieudonné Ndizeye(iPRC-Kigali) | Olivier Shyaka (Espoir) | Kami Kabange(REG) | |
| 2019–20[24] | Guibert Nijimbere(REG) | Wilson Nshobozwa(REG) | Dieudonné Ndizeye(Patriots) | Bienvenu Niyonsaba(APR) | Junior Kasongo(Patriots) | Henry Mwinuka(REG) |
| 2020–21[17] | Adonis Filer(REG) | Engelbert Beleck Bell(Patriots) | Dieudonné Ndizeye(Patriots) | Olivier Shyaka(REG) | Tom Wamukota(Patriots) | Henry Mwinuka(REG) |
| 2021–22[25] | Adonis Filer(REG) | Kenny Gasana(Patriots) | Steven Hagumintwari(Patriots) | Axel Mpoyo(REG) | Pitchou Kambuy Manga(REG) | Henry Mwinuka(REG) |
| 2023 | Not announced | Maz Trakh(APR)[29] | ||||
| 2024 | Henry Mwinuka(Patriots)[27] | |||||
| 2025[21] | James Mayes (APR) | |||||
Each year, the champions of the NBL were placed for the qualifiers of theFIBA Africa Basketball League, the premiere pan-African competition. Since 2020, this league is replaced by theBasketball Africa League (BAL). The following list shows Rwandan teams which played in a main tournament:
| Club | Participations | Seasons | Best result |
|---|---|---|---|
| APR | 4 | 2007,2008,2009,2024 |  3rd place (2009) |
| REG | 2 | 2022,2023 | Quarterfinals (2022) |
| Patriots | 1 | 2021 | Fourth place (2021) |
Since the 2023 season, the champions of the RBL qualify directly to the BAL, as the competition has determined them as designated market.
| Season | Representative | Road to BAL | Main competition | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | Result | Qualified | W | L | Result | |||
| 2021 | Patriots | 9 | 0 |  Gold |  | 3 | 3 | Fourth place | |
| 2022 | REG | Qualified directly | | 4 | 2 | Quarter-finals | |||
| 2023 | REG | Qualified directly | | 3 | 3 | Quarter-finals | |||
| 2024 | APR | Qualified directly | | 2 | 4 | Conference stage | |||
| 2025 | APR | Qualified directly | | 6 | 4 |  Bronze | |||
| Total | 9 | 0 | 18 | 16 | |||||
| Seasons | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clubs |
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| Arenas | |||||
| Associated competitions | |||||
