Nigeria’s senior women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, have reinforced their hold on eighth place in the latest FIBA Women’s World Ranking following their campaign in Group A of the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup Qualifiers.
The African champions won two of five matches, defeating Colombia and the Philippines, but suffered defeats to South Korea, France and Germany.
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Despite the mixed qualifying results, D’Tigress had already secured a World Cup spot by winning the FIBA Women’s AfroBasket 2025 title, defeating Mali 78–64 in Abidjan to claim their fifth consecutive and seventh overall continental crown, underlining their dominance in African women’s basketball.
The 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup is scheduled for September 4 to 13 in Berlin, with the 16-team tournament taking place at Max-Schmeling-Halle, Germany’s second time hosting the event.
United States women’s national basketball team retained the top spot following an unbeaten run in San Juan.
France rose to second after a flawless five-win campaign in Lyon-Villeurbanne, overtaking Australia, while Belgium narrowly missed the top five, trailing China by less than a point after remaining unbeaten in Wuhan.
Japan re-entered the top 10, moving from 11th after securing World Cup qualification with wins over Canada and Argentina. Host nation Germany rose from 12th to 11th, including a victory over Nigeria.
Head of Sports at BusinessDay Media, a seasoned Digital Content Producer, and FIFA/CAF Accredited Journalist with over a decade of sports reporting.Has a deep understanding of the Nigerian and global sports landscape and skills in delivering comprehensive and insightful sports content.
