Nigeria Kicked Out of 2022 Basketball World Cup by FIBA, Replaces D’Tigress With Mali

Nigeria Kicked Out of 2022 Basketball World Cup by FIBA, Replaces D’Tigress With Mali

Chukwu Ikechukwu
updated at April 12, 2023 at 8:03 PM
  • D’Tigress has been kicked out of the 2022 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup after the Federal Government withdrew all teams from international competitions
  • President Muhammadu Buhari barred the Nigeria Basketball Federation from competing in international competitions for two years, prompting the FIBA’s decision
  • FIBA has instead replaced D’Tigress of Nigeria with Mali for the upcoming Women’s World Cup 2022 after a failed attempt to resolve the ongoing crisis

Nigeria’s women’s senior basketball team, D’Tigress will not get a chance to fly the country’s flag at the 2022 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup after they were kicked out of the competition.

D'Tigress qualified for the World Cup, which will be held in Sydney, Australia, in September 2022 after defeating France and Mali in the last qualifying tournament.

Nigeria, D'Tigress, Basketball, World Cup, FIBA, Mali, President Muhammadu Buhari
Nigeria's D'Tigress qualified for the 2022 FIBA Women's World Cup after defeating Mali. Photo by Nikola Krstic
Source: Getty Images

According to a report via Punch, The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) made the decision after the Federal Government withdrew all basketball teams from international competitions.

FIBA has now replaced D’Tigress of Nigeria with Mali for the upcoming Women’s World Cup 2022 which is scheduled to commence in September reports People Gazette.

The International Basketball Federation also noted that the decision to exclude Nigeria from international competition for two years will result in additional repercussions which it is yet to state.

Nigerians react on social media after D’Tigress ouster from World Cup

Meanwhile, Nigerians are venting their frustrations on social media after D’Tigress were thrown out of the World Cup as a respected journalist, Biola Solace-Chukwu blamed Nigeria’s administrators for the decision.

Another journalist, Tayo Salaam sympathized with the players of the national women’s basketball team after they were excluded from the World Cup.

FIBA will announce whether there will be any other decisions related to the NBBF’s participation in other FIBA competitions and any potential disciplinary measures in due course.

Nigeria’s female basketball team qualify for women basketball World Cup

Earlier, Sports Brief reported Nigeria's female basketball team D'Tigress have qualified for the Women Basketball World Cup billed to hold in Australia this year.

D’Tigress who lost the first quarter 20-22, came from behind to beat Mali 73-69 on Sunday afternoon to qualify for the 2022 FIBA Women’s World Cup slated for Sydney.

Like they did against France two days earlier, Otis Hugley girls fought back from a 2-point deficit in the first quarter to grab a win and book their second consecutive World Cup outing.

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Chukwu Ikechukwu
Chukwu Ikechukwu Godwin is a journalist with over 9 years of experience in the Nigerian media industry. He has worked both in Radio (Today FM, Rhythm FM, Wish FM) and Television (Silverbird TV) as a Sports Analyst..
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