KIGALI — The Basketball Africa League announced that Armée Patriotique Rwandaise Basketball Club will not participate in the 2026 season and will be replaced by the RSSB Tigers, which are owned by the Rwanda Social Security Board. The RSSB Tigers qualified for the BAL playoffs scheduled in Kigali in May 2026.

APR is based in Kigali and is owned and funded by the Rwanda Defence Force. The club dates back to the Rwandan genocide in the 1990s. In January 2026, the Rwanda Defence Force hosted a luncheon for APR players and staff to celebrate their Super Cup victory.

The Trump administration in March 2026 announced sanctions targeting Rwanda's military and four senior officials for their role in abuses and military aggression in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Those forces have committed massacres, rapes and other human rights abuses. Under U.S. Treasury sanctions, assets held by the Rwanda Defence Force within American jurisdiction are frozen and U.S. entities are prohibited from engaging in transactions with the force or connected individuals.

The BAL operates under the NBA and was co-founded by NBA Africa. Rwanda secured the hosting rights for the inaugural BAL season in 2021. The NBA continues to comply with U.S. government guidance regarding its engagement in Rwanda.

NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum previously defended the NBA's ties to Rwandan president Paul Kagame in an ESPN story. Tatum wrote: "If American policies were to change regarding business activities in and relating to Rwanda or any other BAL market, our actions would of course change accordingly." He also wrote that the NBA follows "the lead of the US government as to where it's appropriate to engage in business around the world."

In February 2026, Kagame attended the NBA All-Star Game and met with Tatum and other officials to discuss the future of basketball in Africa. Kagame won the 2024 Rwandan presidential election with more than 99% of the vote. In 2016, he attended an NBA Africa luncheon with commissioner Adam Silver during All-Star Game festivities, and in 2018 he delivered a keynote speech at a reception hosted by the NBA in New York City.

Claire Akamanzi, a former aide and cabinet minister to Kagame, was appointed CEO of NBA Africa in December 2023. In August 2015, NBA coaches hosted a basketball camp in Kigali as part of the Giants of Africa program. Visit Rwanda announced a multi-year sponsorship agreement with the Los Angeles Clippers in September 2025, adding to a global sports portfolio that includes deals with Paris Saint-Germain and Atlético Madrid.