A refurbished court in Guédiawaye is the first of six community courts Qatar Foundation will help rebuild across Africa, and it has been designed with women and girls at its centre.
GUÉDIAWAYE, Senegal. Africa’s first BAL4HER community court is now open. Qatar Foundation (QF) and the Basketball Africa League (BAL) have unveiled a newly refurbished facility in Guédiawaye, in the greater Dakar area, built to give women, girls and young people more opportunities through sport.
According to the Qatar News Agency, the court was inaugurated on 31 October by Sheikh Joaan bin Hamad Al Thani, President of the Olympic Council of Asia. For the two organisations behind it, the opening is the first tangible result of a partnership that pairs bricks and mortar with the people and programmes needed to make a facility matter.
Inside the BAL4HER Partnership Between Qatar Foundation and the BAL
The project sits within a multiyear collaboration launched in May 2026. Under it, QF will support the refurbishment of six community courts in Africa, alongside a social impact programme designed to widen access to sport and create longer term opportunities for women, girls and African youth.
QF is the first Official BAL Community Partner. In that role, it is backing a programme that combines improved sports infrastructure with community activities, talent and leadership development, and local collaborations.
BAL4HER itself is the league’s platform for advancing women and girls in basketball and across the wider sports industry. Its work centres on lifting participation and visibility while supporting the development of female talent and leaders.
Inside the Guédiawaye Court
The refurbished facility goes well beyond a playing surface. It will host basketball, volleyball and handball, and its upgrades include an improved roof, lighting, changing rooms, bathrooms and meeting rooms.
Dedicated space has been set aside for leadership workshops, life skills training, educational sessions, and health and nutrition programmes, making the court a place to learn as well as to play.
The design responds to the people who already use the site. Two thirds of the facility’s current users are female, and the stated goal is to make the space safer and more accessible so that women and girls can take part, develop and thrive through sport.
Alanoud Al Mesnad on Sport as Social Development
For Alanoud Al Mesnad, Executive Director of Women’s and Girls’ Sports at Qatar Foundation, the court is an expression of a wider conviction. “At Qatar Foundation, we believe sport can be a powerful tool for social development, creating opportunities for women and girls, supporting young people and strengthening communities,” she said.
Al Mesnad described the partnership as an effort to create safe and inclusive spaces that reflect local needs and keep their value to the communities around them over time. She added that the programmes, partners and community involvement surrounding a facility are what turn investment in infrastructure into lasting impact.
Amadou Gallo Fall on What the Court Means for Girls in Senegal
For BAL President Amadou Gallo Fall, the project lands close to home. A Senegalese native, Fall founded SEED (Sports for Education and Economic Development), a nonprofit, in 1998. He went on to scout for the Dallas Mavericks and later served as the franchise’s Vice President of International Affairs, helped start Basketball Without Borders Africa in 2003, and joined the NBA in 2010 as Vice President and Managing Director for Africa before being named President of the BAL in 2019.
“Basketball has the power to open doors, build confidence and inspire young people to dream bigger,” Fall said. “With the first BAL4HER community court in Africa, we want girls and young women in Guédiawaye to have a place where they can play, learn, connect and imagine what is possible.”
He also thanked Qatar Foundation for sharing the league’s commitment to expanding opportunities through the game.
A Local Model, Not a Template
Central to the collaboration is a shared view that sports infrastructure delivers the most when it arrives with the people, programmes and partners who create lasting value for a community.
That is why QF and the BAL are not repeating a single blueprint in every location. Each project is shaped around its own context. In Senegal, the work has centred on the city of Guédiawaye and its local stakeholders, so that the court reflects the culture, identity and needs of the people who will use it.
Why the BAL4HER Court Matters
The partners bring complementary weight. Founded in 1995, Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development is a nonprofit whose ecosystem spans more than 50 entities working across education, research, innovation and community development, anchored by Education City, its 12 square kilometre campus in Doha.
The BAL, a partnership between FIBA and NBA Africa, is a professional league of 12 club teams from across Africa. Headquartered in Dakar, it completed its sixth season in May 2026 and represents the NBA’s first collaboration to operate a league outside North America.
The partnership is also a clear example of Gulf capital and expertise being directed towards African community development, with a Doha based foundation supporting new facilities in a Senegalese city.
With the first of six courts now open, the focus shifts to where the remaining five will be built and how the programmes inside them perform. Guédiawaye sets the benchmark the others will be measured against: a BAL4HER court shaped by its community, with women and girls, who already make up two thirds of its users, at the centre of its purpose.
FAQ Block
What is BAL4HER?
BAL4HER is the Basketball Africa League’s initiative to advance women and girls in basketball and the wider sports industry by increasing participation and visibility and supporting talent and leadership development.
Where is the first BAL4HER community court in Africa?
The first BAL4HER community court in Africa is in Guédiawaye, Senegal.
Who is behind the BAL4HER community court?
Qatar Foundation, the first Official BAL Community Partner, supported the refurbishment with the Basketball Africa League as part of a multiyear partnership launched in May 2026.
How many courts will Qatar Foundation refurbish in Africa?
Qatar Foundation will support the refurbishment of six community courts in Africa, with Guédiawaye the first.
What does the Guédiawaye court offer?
The court hosts basketball, volleyball and handball, with upgraded lighting, changing rooms, bathrooms and meeting rooms, plus space for leadership workshops, life skills training, education, and health and nutrition programmes.
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