D’Tigress Draw France, Germany Among Others in World Cup Qualifiers
The Nigerian women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, have been drawn into a challenging group for the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup qualifying tournaments.
The draw, held on Tuesday, 7 October 2025 at the Patrick Baumann House of Basketball in Mies, Switzerland, grouped Nigeria with France, Germany, South Korea, Colombia, and the Philippines in the Lyon-Villeurbanne bracket.
These qualifiers run from 11 to 17 March 2026, across four host cities: Lyon (France), Wuhan (China), San Juan (Puerto Rico), and Istanbul (Turkey).
The 24 participating nations will be divided into four groups of six teams each. The top three teams from each group will advance to the World Cup, alongside continental champions and the host nation.
Notably, Nigeria will go into this stage having already secured entry by winning the 2025 Women’s AfroBasket championship.
Nigeria’s path will be tough. France, as group hosts, and Germany, one of the World Cup host nations, both present formidable opposition. Meanwhile, South Korea, Colombia, and the Philippines will be eager to upset expectations.
This marks another global opportunity for D’Tigress. Nigeria has appeared twice before in the Women’s Basketball World Cup (2006 and 2018), with the 2018 campaign producing a historic 8th-place finish, the best ever by an African nation.
With the qualifiers looming, D’Tigress must combine grit, experience, and ambition if they hope to break into the World Cup stage again in Berlin in September 2026.