CAIRO AND JOHANNESBURG – NBA Africa today named Mohamed Abdel-Motaleb Soliman as Vice President and Head of NBA Egypt, where the league’s fourth office on the continent will open in early 2023.  Soliman, who most recently served as vice president of the Egyptian Basketball Federation and deputy secretary general of the Egyptian Olympic Committee, will lead the league’s new office in Cairo and report to NBA Africa CEO Victor Williams.

Soliman, a former captain of the Egyptian National Basketball Team, Olympian and accomplished executive with more than 20 years of commercial and manufacturing experience, will oversee the league’s basketball and business development initiatives in Egypt, including grassroots programming for youth and elite players, relationships with current and prospective marketing, media and merchandise partners, and social responsibility efforts across the country.

“The launch of our fourth African office in Cairo reflects our belief in the enormous potential for basketball and the NBA in Egypt,” said Williams.  “Mohamed’s extensive experience at all levels of the Egyptian basketball ecosystem and demonstrated track record of growing businesses in Egypt make him the ideal person to lead our efforts in the country and accelerate the growth of the game there.”

“Being a part of NBA Africa and opening the league’s office in my home country is a dream come true and something I’ve been preparing for my whole life,” said Soliman.  “I have seen firsthand the tremendous passion for basketball that exists in Egypt, and I look forward to building on that momentum in the years to come.”

Soliman was a member of the Egyptian Men’s National Basketball Team that won the 1995 All-Africa Games in Zimbabwe, and the team’s captain when they won the 1999 All-Africa Games in South Africa, and the 1999 Pan Arab Games in Jordan.  He also represented Egypt at the 1988 Olympic Games in Seoul, at the FIBA Basketball World Cups in Argentina (1990) and Canada (1994), and at FIBA AfroBasket in 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993 and 1999.  He is a three-time Most Valuable Player of the Egyptian Basketball Super League (1993, 1995 and 1998) and was voted the Arab Basketball Confederation’s best player in 1995.

Following his playing career, Soliman spent more than 20 years leading a number of manufacturing and fast-moving consumer goods companies in Egypt, including CEMEX, Lafarge Egypt and Wadi Group.  He was named vice president of the Egyptian Basketball Federation in 2012, a member of the FIBA Competitions Commission in 2014, and deputy secretary general of the Egyptian Olympic Committee in 2022.  Soliman holds a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Alexandria University and an MBA from the Maastricht School of Management in the Netherlands.

Earlier this year, Cairo’s Hassan Mostafa Indoor Sports Complex served as the host venue of the Basketball Africa League’s Nile Conference group phase and the 18^th edition of Basketball Without Borders Africa, the NBA and FIBA’s global basketball development and community outreach program.

About NBA Africa
NBA Africa is a standalone entity formed in May 2021 that conducts the NBA’s business in Africa, including the Basketball Africa League (BAL) and the league’s entities in Dakar, Senegal and Lagos, Nigeria.  The NBA has a long history in Africa and opened its African headquarters in Johannesburg, South Africa in 2010.  The league’s efforts on the continent have focused on increasing access to basketball and the NBA through youth and elite development, social responsibility, media distribution, corporate partnerships, NBA Africa Games, the BAL, and more.

NBA games and programming are available in all 54 African countries, and the NBA has hosted three sold-out exhibition games on the continent since 2015.  The BAL, a partnership between the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and NBA Africa, is a professional league featuring 12 club teams from across Africa that completed its second season in May 2022.  Fans can follow @NBA_Africa and @theBAL on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.