| Elite Messieurs | |
| Organiser: | FECABASKET |
| Country: | Cameroon |
| Teams: | 8 (2022–23) |
| Relegation: | Division 2 |
| Levels: | 1 |
| Domest Cup: | Cameroonian Basketball Cup |
| Confed Cup: | Basketball Africa League (BAL) |
| Champions: | Kadji Sports Academy (1st title) |
| Season: | 2023–24 |
| Most Champs: | BEAC (5 titles) |
| Website: | Link |
The Elite Messieurs (translated to English: Elite Men), also known as Cameroon Basketball League, is the premier basketball league for clubs in Cameroon. The league consisted out of 8 teams in the 2022–23 season.
Currently, the most successful team in the league is FAP, who have won four consecutive titles between 2020 and 2023.
The champions of the Elite Messieurs qualify for the Road to BAL, the qualification tournaments of the Basketball Africa League (BAL).
In the most recent format, eight teams participated in the regular season where they face each other tea one time. The top four teams advance to the Final Four, where they play in a round-robin to determine the final standings.
The following were the 12 teams for the 2022 season:[1] [2]
| Team | City | Established | |
|---|---|---|---|
| FAP | Yaoundé | 1972 | |
| Condor | Yaoundé | ||
| Ecole de Basket | Douala | 1991 | |
| Étoile Sportif de Douala | Douala | ||
| Volcanic Warriors | Buea | ||
| Nzui-Manto | Bangangté | 2014 | |
| Onyx | Yaoundé | 2001 | |
| Université de Douala | Douala | ||
| Overdose Up Station | Yaoundé | ||
| Douala Firebirds | Douala | ||
| Le Nkam | Nkam | ||
| BEAC | Yaoundé |
| Season | Champions | Runners-up | Third place | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Yaoundé Université Club | [3] | |||
| 1972–1983 | Unknown | ||||
| 1984 | Zenith BBC | ||||
| 1985 | Zenith BBC | [4] | |||
| 1986 | |||||
| 1987 | Zenith BBC | ||||
| 1988 | |||||
| 1989 | Challenger | ||||
| 1990 | Challenger | ||||
| 1991 | Challenger | ||||
| 1992 | Challenger | ||||
| 1993 | Dreamstore BBC | ||||
| 1994 | Dreamstore BBC | ||||
| 1995 | BEAC | Dreamstore BBC | [5] | ||
| 1996 | Athletic Warriors | ||||
| 1997 | Athletic Warriors | ||||
| 1998 | Athletic Warriors | ||||
| 1999 | Athletic Warriors | ||||
| 2000 | |||||
| 2001 | Yaoundé Université Club | [6] | |||
| 2002 | BEAC | [7] | |||
| 2003 | BEAC | ||||
| 2005 | Phoenix de Douala | Ecole de Basket | [8] | ||
| 2006 | Phoenix de Douala | BEAC | Noga Air Force | [9] [10] | |
| 2007 | Condor | [11] | |||
| 2008 | Condor | BEAC | [12] | ||
| 2009 | BEAC | Condor | [13] | ||
| 2010 | Far Compet de Yaoundé | Ecole de Basket | [14] | ||
| 2011 | Condor | INJS Yaoundé | Montagne Bafoussam | [15] | |
| 2012 | INJS | [16] | |||
| 2013 | Ecole de Basket | All Stars de Bamenda | INJS Yaoundé | ||
| 2014 | All Stars de Bamenda | [17] | |||
| 2015 | INJS | BEAC | Nzui-Manto | [18] | |
| 2015–16 | Nzui-Manto | INJS Yaoundé | BEAC | [19] | |
| 2016–17 | BEAC | Nzui-Manto | [20] | ||
| 2017–18 | BEAC | [21] | |||
| 2018–19 | Condor | FAP | Ecole de Basket | ||
| 2019–20 | FAP | Université de Douala | Le Nkam | [22] | |
| 2020–21 | FAP | Onyx | Le Nkam | [23] | |
| 2021–22 | FAP | Ecole de Basket | BEAC | [24] | |
| 2022–23 | FAP | [25] | |||
| 2023–24 | Kadji Sports Academy | FAP | [26] | ||
| Team | Titles | Winning seasons | Last season title | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BEAC | 6 | 1995, 2002, 2003, 2009, 2017, 2018 | 2018 | |
| Athletic Warriors† | 4 | 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999 | 1999 | |
| Condor | 4 | 2007, 2008, 2011, 2019 | 2019 | |
| FAP | 4 | 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023 | 2022 | |
| BBC Challenger† | 3 | 1990, 1991, 1992 | 1992 | |
| Zenith† | 2 | 1985, 1987 | 1987 | |
| Phoenix de Douala* | 2 | 2005, 2006 | 2006 | |
| INJS | 2 | 2012, 2015 | 2015 | |
| Yaoundé Université Club | 2 | 1971, 2001 | 1971 | |
| Kadji Sports Academy | 1 | 2024 | 2024 | |
| Nzui-Manto | 1 | 2016 | 2016 | |
| Ecole de Basket | 1 | 2013 | 2013 | |
| All Stars de Bamenda* | 1 | 2014 | 2014 | |
| Far Compet de Yaoundé† | 1 | 2010 | 2010 | |
| † Defunct club.* Former club, now plays in the Division 2. | ||||
Each year, the champions of the league are placed for the qualifiers of the FIBA Africa Basketball League, the premiere pan-African competition. Since 2020, this league is replaced by the Basketball Africa League (BAL). The following list shows Cameroonian teams which played in a main tournament:
| Club | Participations | Last participation | Best result |
|---|---|---|---|
| BEAC | 2016 | 7th place | |
| Condor | 2010 | Runners-up | |
| Nzui Manto | 2015 | 10th place | |
| CAMAIR | |||
| ONCBP | |||