World Cup: FIBA confirms D’Tigress’ withdrawal, replaces team with Mali

FIBA, the world basketball governing body, has announced Nigeria’s withdrawal from the 2022 FIBA Women’s World Cup, which will be held in September in Australia.

The confirmation came after FIBA was unable to obtain confirmation of Nigeria’s change of heart from the Nigeria Basketball Federation, according to a statement published Thursday.

Despite FIBA’s interactions and requests to the Nigerian federation, “it has become evident that the NBBF is unable to guarantee its participation in the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2022 due to the conditions created by the government’s decision.”

It was emphasized that “given the multiple strict deadlines that cannot be postponed in order to ensure the successful staging of a major international event (visa procedures, schedules, ticket sales, accommodations, friendly games, preliminary rosters, flight tickets, accreditations, etc.) and to protect the integrity of the competition, the FIBA Executive Committee has decided Nigeria’s withdrawal from the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2022 is confirmed.”

It added that, “Mali, as the next ranked team from Group B of the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2022 Qualifying Tournament in Belgrade, is invited to participate in the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup.

It however, said that it will announce whether it will visit Nigeria with “any other decisions related to the NBBF’s participation in other FIBA competitions and any potential disciplinary measures in due course” .