Sports
D’Tigress Unveil Final 12-Player Squad for 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup Qualifiers
Nigeria’s senior women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, have unveiled their final 12-player squad for the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup Qualifying Tournament, with the list confirmed by FIBA on Thursday.
The squad, also announced on the team’s official social media platforms, features experienced campaigners such as Ezinne Kalu, Sarah Ogoke, Amy Okonkwo and Promise Amukamara.
Other players on the roster include Elizabeth Balogun, Nicole Enabosi, Victoria Macaulay, Murjanatu Musa, Pallas Kunayi-Akpanah, Rita Igbokwe, Ifunaya Okoro and Blessing Ejiofor.
The seven-time African champions will compete in the qualifying tournament scheduled for March 11 to 17 in Lyon, France. Nigeria will face Colombia on March 11 before taking on South Korea on March 12, Philippines on March 14, hosts France on March 15 and Germany on March 17.
The top three teams from the group will progress to the next stage of the competition.
Having already secured automatic qualification for the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Berlin by winning the 2025 Women’s AfroBasket, D’Tigress will use the Lyon tournament to sharpen strategies and strengthen team cohesion ahead of the global event.
Alongside host Germany, teams such as Australia, Belgium and the United States have also qualified for the World Cup.
Head coach Rena Wakama had earlier named a larger provisional roster before trimming the squad to the final 12 ahead of the competition.
In the first edition of the power rankings for the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup, released by FIBA on Thursday, Nigeria were ranked eighth in the world, reflecting the team’s recent achievements and the strength of its roster.
The African champions will use the tournament in Lyon as a test run ahead of the World Cup in Berlin, where they are expected to challenge some of the world’s top teams.
Nigeria previously featured at the Women’s Basketball World Cup in 2006 in Brazil and 2018 in Spain, and will be aiming to improve on those outings when the competition takes place in Germany in September 2026.
Following the qualifiers in France, D’Tigress are also scheduled to embark on a landmark tour of the United States in April, where they will face Minnesota Lynx in a historic preseason exhibition game.
The encounter will make D’Tigress the first African national team to play a WNBA franchise, as part of their preparations for the 2026 Women’s Basketball World Cup.
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