AfriPulse
Nigeria’s women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, will have their work cut out after being drawn in a tricky group for the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup Qualifying Tournament in Lyon-Villeurbanne, France.
The D’Tigress are paired alongside hosts France, Germany, Korea, Colombia, and the Philippines. The qualifiers are scheduled to run from March 11 to 17, 2026.
The draw took place at the Patrick Baumann House of Basketball in Mies, Switzerland, with German player Marie Guelich and former French captain Endy Miyem conducting proceedings in the presence of FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis and representatives from participating nations.
A total of 24 teams will battle across four host cities: Lyon-Villeurbanne (France), Wuhan (China), San Juan (Puerto Rico), and Istanbul (Turkey). Only 16 teams will advance to the main event in Berlin, Germany, later in the year.
Nigeria head into the qualifiers as one of Africa’s strongest sides, following their successful defence of the Women’s AfroBasket title in August 2025. That triumph secured D’Tigress a place among the continent’s four representatives, alongside Mali, Senegal, and South Sudan.
FIBA’s Central Board recently approved the expansion of the Women’s World Cup to 16 teams, a move designed to give emerging basketball nations more chances to compete at the top level. The new qualifying format divides the 24 teams into four tournaments of six teams each, with the top three from every group booking their ticket to Berlin.
D’Tigress join the tournament as one of four continental champions, alongside Australia (Asia Cup winners), Belgium (EuroBasket champions), and the United States (AmeriCup winners).
The draw in Lyon-Villeurbanne pits the Nigerian women against some of the game’s biggest names. France and Germany will provide strong European tests, while Korea, Colombia, and the Philippines will also fancy their chances in what looks like one of the most balanced groups of the qualifiers.
Nigeria will be hoping to build on their impressive run in recent years. The team’s last appearance at the World Cup came in 2018, when they made history by reaching the quarter-finals and finishing eighth, the best-ever performance by an African nation.
Note that the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup will be staged in Berlin from September 4 to 13, 2026.
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