On 1 August 2019, the Kigali Arena, built and opened in 2019, was announced as host of the Final Four of the BAL tournament.

[4] The arena has a capacity for approximately 10,000 people and hosted the AfroBasket 2021 qualifiers and Rwandan National Basketball League before.

They qualified as the first seed to the play-offs and were deemed as "favourites" for the title prior to the league start by ESPN.

[9] Zamalek won the Egyptian Super League in 2019, its first title in 11 years, to qualify for the inaugural BAL season.

In the 1990s, the club had been successful at the continental level as well with a FIBA Africa Basketball League title in 1992 and a lost final in 1998.

[9] Zamalek guard Mohab Yasser, the youngest player in the BAL season at 18 years old, contributed 14 points after shooting 6-for-8 from the field.