African champions, Nigeria, will begin their campaign in the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup tournament with a game against Colombia in Lyon, France, today.

The D’Tigress arrived in Lyon at the weekend to continue their preparation for the competition, which will hold from today to March 17.

Host nation, Germany, and continental champions, Belgium (Europe), United States (FIBA Women’s AmeriCup 2025 champions), Australia (Asia) and Nigeria (Africa) have already qualified for the World Cup, but they are still participating in the qualifying tournament.

Coach Rema Wakama is in Lyon with 12 players, who are expected to maintain Nigeria’s rising status in world’s women’s basketball.

The qualifiers will serve as further preparation for the global tournament scheduled to take place in Germany from September 4 to 13.

After today’s opening game against Colombia, the D’Tigress will face South Korea tomorrow, meet the Philippines on March 14, hosts France on March 15 and Germany on March 17.

In total, 24 national teams are competing across four global tournaments for the remaining places at the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2026 in Berlin.

A total of 60 games will be played across four round-robin qualifying tournaments across the globe as teams battle for their places at the sport’s flagship international competition.

In most tournaments, the top three teams will qualify for the World Cup. However, because host nation Germany and the winners of the 2025 continental championships already have automatic qualification, 11 teams will progress from the qualifying tournaments to the World Cup. (Guardian)

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