On the eve of the All-Star Game, the NBA announced one of its most ambitious projects in years: the formation of the Basketball Africa League.

全明星赛前夕，NBA联盟宣布了近年来最具雄心的一个项目：组建非洲篮球联盟。

The NBA will partner with FIBA, the international governing body for the sport, to form the 12-team league, which is expected open January 2020.

NBA联盟将和国际篮联FIBA合作，组建一个拥有十二支球队的联盟，并于2020年1月开赛。

There are already several professional teams across Africa, but this league will attempt to unify¹ them into one place while providing financial support, resources and training.

非洲已经拥有多支专业篮球队了，但是这次创建的非洲篮球联盟将试图把这些球队聚在一块，并向他们提供财政支持、资源以及训练。

There will be qualifying tournaments held to determine which teams make the league with the nations of Angola, Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia likely to be represented.

届时将会举行一些高水平的锦标赛，来决定哪些球队可以加入联盟。安哥拉、埃及、肯尼亚、摩洛哥、尼日利亚、卢旺达、塞内加尔、南非以及突尼斯这些国家可能会参加。

The NBA and FIBA's involvement will include financial support and resources toward continued growing of the game on the continent, as well as providing training for players, coaches and referees² and some infrastructurefor the new league.

NBA联盟和FIBA的加入将会为非洲大陆上日益发展的篮球运动提供财政支持和资源帮助。同时，此举还将帮助运动员、教练和裁判进行训练，以及为新联盟提供基础设施。

Former President Barack Obama, an avid³ basketball fan, is expected to have hands-on involvement with league as well.

前美国总统贝拉克-奥巴马是一名热心的篮球迷，他也将亲身加入新联盟的创建工作。

NBA

I've always loved basketball because it's about building a team that's equal to more than the sum of its parts. Glad to see this expansion into Africa because for a rising continent, this can be about a lot more than what happens on the court.

我一直很喜欢篮球，因为在篮球运动中，一支球队的力量要远远大于它的各部分的总和。我很高心看到NBA在非洲创办新的联盟，因为对于非洲这样一个冉冉升起的大陆来说，此举的影响远远超出球场之外。

NBA Commissioner⁴ Adam Silver said he was excited that Mr Obama wanted to have a role in the initiative, and said talks between the NBA and the former president are ongoing⁵.

NBA总裁亚当-萧华说他对奥巴马先生想要加入这一倡议感到十分激动，同时表明NBA和这位前总统的谈话正在进行中。

He is expected to be "directly involved" with Basketball Africa League, although quite what role he will take remains⁶ unclear.

奥巴马将“直接参与”非洲篮球联盟的事务之中，不过他具体担任的职务尚不得而知。

"It's a big celebration. It is a dream come true for all of us," Mutombo, a Democratic Republic of the Congo native and Basketball Hall of Famer, told The Undefeated.

来自刚果民主共和国的篮球名人堂成员穆托姆博对The Undefeated说：“这是一件值得庆祝的事。对我们大家来说就像是梦想成真了一样。”

"I was fortunate enough to play this game and dreamed of something like this happening in the continent. Today, we see that. I don't have to explain the importance of it to myself.

“能够打篮球，能够梦想着这样的事发生在非洲，对我来说已经是非常幸运的了。今天，我们亲眼看到了。其重要性对我来说不言而喻。”