The Nigeria women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, are bracing for a stern test on the road to Berlin after being drawn in a tough qualifying group for the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup Qualifying Tournament.
The draw, held on Tuesday at the Patrick Baumann House of Basketball in Mies, Switzerland, placed Nigeria in the Lyon-Villeurbanne group alongside hosts France women’s national basketball team, Germany women’s national basketball team, South Korea women’s national basketball team, Colombia women’s national basketball team, and Philippines women’s national basketball team.
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The qualifiers will take place from 11 to 17 March 2026, in four host cities: Lyon-Villeurbanne (France), Wuhan (China), San Juan (Puerto Rico), and Istanbul (Turkey)—with 24 nations competing for 16 spots at the main event in Berlin.
The draw was conducted by German international Marie Guelich and French legend Endy Miyem in the presence of FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis and federation representatives, setting the stage for what promises to be a fiercely contested qualification campaign.
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Continental dominance meets global ambition
Nigeria arrives at this stage as Africa’s dominant force, having clinched their fifth continental crown at the 2025 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket in August. That triumph automatically secured their ticket to the qualifying tournament, alongside fellow African sides Mali, Senegal, and South Sudan.
It’s another opportunity for D’Tigress to convert their continental success into global impact. Their historic eighth-place finish at the 2018 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Spain remains the best ever by an African team.
They will now look to build on that legacy and return to the global stage with even greater ambition.
A challenging Group for Africa’s Champions
The Lyon-Villeurbanne draw pits Nigeria against some of the world’s most best sides.
France: The hosts and European heavyweights are perennial contenders on the global stage.
Germany: A rising power with home-soil advantage at the 2026 World Cup.
Korea, Colombia, and the Philippines: Emerging teams hungry to seize one of the remaining World Cup tickets.
The qualifying format will see the top three teams from each group advance to the World Cup, joining continental champions and the host nation.
Nigeria head into the qualifiers as one of four continental champions; alongside Australia women’s national basketball team (Asia Cup winners), Belgium women’s national basketball team (EuroBasket winners), and United States women’s national basketball team (AmeriCup winners).
A growing stage for the women’s game
The 2026 cycle comes after FIBA’s decision to expand the Women’s World Cup to 16 teams, a move designed to give more nations a chance to compete at the highest level.
The road to this stage began with the pre-qualifying tournaments in August 2024 in Kigali, Rwanda, and Mexico City, Mexico, from which Hungary and the Czech Republic booked their places in the qualifying round.
A shot at history in Berlin
For Nigeria, qualification would mark their third appearance at the World Cup, following outings in 2006 and 2018. But beyond just participation, there’s a bigger ambition: to rewrite the narrative for African basketball on the world stage.
READ ALSO: U20 World Cup: Ruthless Argentina eliminate Nigeria’s Flying Eagles
The main tournament is set to take place in Berlin, Germany, from 4 to 13 September 2026.
D’Tigress have made a habit of defying the odds. With France and Germany in their path this time, they will need to summon every ounce of that resilience and championship pedigree to make it back to the biggest stage in women’s basketball.
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