The National Basketball Association is making a big bet on Africa

Its record of nurturing African football has been less triumphant, however. Africa’s best talent plays in European football leagues, yet no African side has ever made it to the semi-finals of the World Cup. Though the Afcon increasingly attracts money and global viewers, there is still no high-profile pan-African league to speak of. To flourish professionally, the continent’s best footballers must leave it.