Unless the National Sports Commission (NSC) swiftly secures the essential funding to support the D’Tigress in their effort to defend their African Nations Cup (Afrobasket) title at the 2025 edition in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire, the team will probably lose the championship.
The team has been subjected to inadequate travel arrangements, to the extent that, as of yesterday, officials from the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) and the overseeing NSC were unable to provide a definitive departure date for the national team.
The 2025 Afrobasket Championship is set to commence on July 26. A source within the NBBF informed The Guardian yesterday that the NSC has yet to provide the flight tickets to Cote d’Ivoire; as a result, the federation has not communicated the team’s travel plans to the hosts or FIBA Africa, the continent’s basketball governing body.
The source stated: “There is no funding available yet, but naturally, we are the defending champions, and the entire world is aware that we will be present.”
The anonymous source indicated that the NSC was expected to allocate funds for the 2025 Afrobasket in May to assist the Federation in securing the players’ tickets to Abuja for training camp and a pre-championship tournament that is part of their preparation schedule.
“The NBBF was unable to conduct any training camp in the USA, as has been customary, because the NSC leadership mandated that D’Tigress should train in Abuja. The Nigerian women are already a month behind the initial schedule for their training camp.
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The NBBF is now in a state of panic as they observe the African title potentially slipping away to countries such as Senegal or Mali, who have been in training for extended periods.
Officials have stated that the NSC’s inadequate financial situation has complicated planning for major championships for the NBBF.
It was revealed that in addition to the African U-18 and U-20 athletics competition commencing in Abeokuta this week, the NBBF has three international competitions scheduled for July and August. The Women’s U-19 team secured a victory in their opening match against China on Saturday in the Czech Republic.
