Amadou Gallo Fall
Amadou Gallo Fall is a Senegalese-American basketball executive.
Career
Born in Kaolack, he grew up in his native Senegal. According to Fall, he was introduced to basketball in his "late teenage years" and joined the Dakar University club. He studied in Senegal and in Tunisia, before receiving a scholarship for the University of the District of Columbia in the United States in 1989. While attending a basketball camp in Senegal, Fall had caught the eye of a Peace Corps volunteer from the D.C. area, who put him in touch with UDC coach George Leftwich. Standing 6In 1998, he founded the non-profit organization SEED, which includes the SEED Academy, a basketball academy in the Thiès region in Senegal. He also worked with Senegal's Ministry of Youth and Sport and with the NBA's Basketball Without Borders programme. From 2001 to 2009, Fall worked for NBA's Dallas Mavericks, serving as scouting director as well as director of player personnel and vice president of international affairs.
In 2010, Fall was chosen to head the NBA's office in Johannesburg, South Africa and as NBA's managing director for Africa was responsible for overseeing the league's development in Africa in the following years. He was also named NBA's vice president. Under his guidance, the NBA opened its NBA Academy Africa in May 2017.
In May 2019, Fall was appointed as president of the Basketball Africa League which started operating in 2021.
Honours
- Naismith Legacy Award
- Member of the University of the District of Columbia Athletics Hall of Fame
- New African's 100 Most Influential Africans
- African Leader 4 Change Award
- South African Sport Industry's Leadership in Sport Award