As part of its strategic preparation for the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup, D’Tigress, the country’s senior women’s national team, will set off on a historic international exhibition tour in the United State, the Nigeria Basketball Federation has announced.
The World Cup is scheduled to start in Berlin, Germany, on September 4 and run through September 13.
The tour, which was organized in association with teams from the Women’s National Basketball Association, is yet another significant milestone in Nigeria’s ongoing ascent to prominence in the world of women’s basketball.
D’Tigress will play top teams in three major American cities: the Los Angeles Sparks in San Diego on April 25, 2026; the Minnesota Lynx in Kansas City on April 27; and the Indiana Fever in Indianapolis on May 2. The goal of this effort, according to the federation, is to develop the greatest Nigerian basketball players worldwide and bring them together into a unified, high-performing national team environment.
“This tour represents more than preparation. ; it represents intent. We are building a team that reflects the full strength of Nigerian basketball across the world. Our focus is on excellence, structure, and long-term success. D’Tigress has established itself as a dominant force in Africa, but our ambitions are global. Every step we take now is with the World Cup in mind, and our objective is clear which is to compete at the highest level and bring that title to Nigeria”, Musa Kida, president of Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), said.
“Opportunities like this are critical for our growth as a team. Competing against top WNBA talent challenges us in every aspect of the game, physically, mentally, and tactically. It allows us to refine our identity and build the cohesion needed to succeed on the world stage. We are not just preparing to show up ; we are preparing to make a statement”, Head coach of the team Rena Wakama added.
D’Tigress in FIBA W’Cup ‘group of death’
For the FIBA Women’s World Cup later this year, D’Tigress, France, South Korea, and Hungary have been placed in Group B.
Nigeria was defeated by South Korea and France in the World Cup qualifying earlier this year. The results were inconsequential to D’Tigress, which had already booked its World Cup ticket by retaining the Women’s Afrobasket title.
Belgium, Australia, Puerto Rico, and Turkey comprise Group C, whereas Japan, Spain, Germany, and Mali comprise Group A. Group D will feature competition from the USA, China, Italy, and Czechia.
Each group’s best team will automatically advance to the quarterfinals. Each group’s top two runners-up go to the qualifying round, where the winners will play alongside the top four teams in the final eight.
ENigeria Newspaper recalled that due to a federal government restriction on international basketball competitions, FIBA expelled D’Tigress from the most recent World Cup in Australia.
