Nigeria’s women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, have been drawn alongside hosts France, Germany, Korea, Colombia, and the Philippines in the Lyon-Villeurbanne group for the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup Qualifying Tournament, scheduled to take place from 11 to 17 March 2026.
The draw, conducted on Tuesday at the Patrick Baumann House of Basketball in Mies, Switzerland, marks the final step in determining the teams that will compete at next year’s World Cup in Berlin, Germany.
Twenty-four nations will take part across four host cities, Wuhan in China, Lyon-Villeurbanne in France, San Juan in Puerto Rico, and Istanbul in Turkey, with 16 ultimately qualifying for the main event.
The draw was conducted by German national player Marie Guelich and former French captain Endy Miyem, in the presence of FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis and representatives from participating federations.
Nigeria, having already qualified for the finals after winning the 2025 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket in August, will seek to extend their impressive run on the continent to the global stage in the qualifiers.
Their latest continental triumph earned them a spot among Africa’s four representatives, alongside Mali, Senegal, and South Sudan, in the qualifiers.
FIBA’s Central Board had earlier approved the expansion of the Women’s World Cup to 16 teams, a move aimed at providing more opportunities for emerging basketball nations.
The 2026 qualifying format will see 24 teams divided into four tournaments of six teams each. The top three teams from each group will qualify for the World Cup, alongside the winners of the continental championships and the host nation, Germany.
Nigeria will head into the qualifiers as one of the four continental champions, alongside Australia (Asia Cup winners), Belgium (EuroBasket winners), and the United States (AmeriCup winners).
For D’Tigress, the Lyon-Villeurbanne draw presents a challenging yet familiar path. The Nigerians will face France, one of Europe’s powerhouses, and German. Also in their group are Korea, Colombia, and the Philippines, all vying for one of the remaining tickets to Berlin.
The African champions will be making their third appearance at the global showpiece, having previously featured in 2006 and 2018, when they achieved a historic eighth-place finish, the best-ever by an African nation.
The qualifiers follow a long process that began with the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup Pre-Qualifying Tournaments held in August 2024 in Kigali, Rwanda, and Mexico City, Mexico.
Hungary and Czech Republic emerged as the two winners from those events, securing their places in the 2026 qualifying stage.
The FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2026 will take place in Berlin, Germany, from 4 to 13 September 2026.
