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D’Tigress, Nigeria’s senior women’s basketball team, won the 2025 edition of the Afro Basketball tournament, which took place recently in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. The team has won the trophy five consecutive times and seven overall. The team defeated Mali 84-76 in a thrilling final, which earned Nigeria a berth at next year’s FIBA Women’s World Cup. The victory came on the heels of the conquest by Nigeria’s senior women’s football team, the Super Falcons, which won the African Women Cup of Nations tournament over the host nation, Morocco, making it ten triumphs so far, the most by an African team.
The triumph of the D’Tigress is the fifth in a row, affirming its dominance in Africa basketball and one of the most successful women’s national teams in Africa. D’Tigress first won its first title in Bamako, Mali, in 2017, and repeated the feat in 2019 at Dakar, Senegal; in 2021 at Yaounde, Cameroon, and in 2023 at Kigali, Rwanda. It is the only African team to reach the quarter finals of both the FIBA Women’s World Cup and the Olympics.
It is commendable that the federal government hosted and rewarded the victorious D’Tigress at the State House, Abuja, just as it did to the Super Falcons after their recent Rabat triumph. Members of the team were given a cash reward of $100,000 each, the national honour of OON and a 3-bedrom flat in Abuja. While Coach Rena Wakama got $100,000, OON and a 3-bedroom flat in Abuja, the other crew members each received $50,000, OON and a 3-bedroom flat in Abuja.
President Tinubu lauded the D’Tigress for the victory and said: “Nigerian women have never failed this nation in sports. From the Super Falcons standing tall on the world stage, to our athletes breaking records on the track, and D’Tigress building a basketball dynasty, our women have consistently made us proud. He also urged other young Nigerians: “Let the story of D’Tigress remind you that greatness is a product of hard work, discipline, and belief. Nigeria belongs to those who dare to dream and are willing to give their best to make those dreams a reality.”
We congratulate the team for winning the trophy five consecutive times and seven overall. They have proved that determination and hard work can lead to victory. They should go ahead to win the global trophy in basketball. We believe that they have the capability to do so. Let other Nigerian athletes draw inspiration from D’Tigress victory. At the same time, we urge the federal government to timely fulfill its promise to the team and the technical crew. We are aware it took the Nigerian government 31 years to fulfill its housing pledges to the victorious Super Eagles team that won the African Cup of Nations in Tunisia in 1994. Sadly, some late members of the victorious team did not witness it.
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Nigerian sportsmen and women should be treated as our national ambassadors and heroes because they bring honour and glory to the nation. We believe that rewarding them with honours and cash gifts will always motivate other athletes to push their limits and achieve their best for the country. This will lead to improved performance in regional and global sports competitions. Their victory will spur other athletes to win laurels for the country.
Apart from rewarding the D’Tigress, the government should invest more resources in sports generally. It should also do more to develop basketball at the grassroots level. We call on state governments to have interest in sports development and invest in sports development. Developing certain sports can create jobs and earn the country some money. It is sad that the government has neglected this aspect of sports economy.
There is need for sporting events at the grassroots to discover new talents.
At a time when Nigeria has lost many stars and budding talents to other nations, President Tinubu’s recent rewards to our sportswomen will discourage Nigerian athletes from switching nationalities. The tempo should be sustained to ensure that athletes participating in international competitions give their best at all times. We believe it will inspire the next generation of our athletes. Let the federal government build world-class training facilities for our athletes.
