African Champions, The D’Tigress of Nigeria, have officially announced their final 12-player roster for the 2025 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket Championship, scheduled for July 26 – August 3, 2025, in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, www.aclsports.com reports.
Led by Rena Wakama, the first female coach to win the title in 2023 and recently named Coach of the Year at the 2024 Paris Olympics; Nigeria will pursue an unprecedented fifth consecutive championship. Wakama, making her second appearance as head coach, now aims to become the first woman to win two AfroBasket titles.
The final roster, a blend of experience and talent, features:
Promise Amukamara, Ezinne Kalu, Elizabeth Balogun, Amy Okonkwo, Nicole Enabosi, Pallas Kunayi, Victoria Macaulay, Vera Ojenwa, Blessing Ejiofor, Ifunaya Okoro, Sarah Ogoke and Murjanatu Musa.
These players were selected from a a 20-player provisional list released in late June.
To fine-tune the squad, the NBBF hosted a three-nation “Homecoming Tournament” in Abuja from July 18–20, featuring friendly matches against Kenya and Togo.
AfroBasket 2025 returns to Abidjan, where 12 teams will compete, grouped into four pools of three. The winner of the tournament will secure automatic qualification for the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup. The second, third, and fourth-placed teams will also advance to the World Cup Qualifying Tournaments, scheduled for March 2026.
Nigeria, four-time defending champions (2017, 2019, 2021, 2023) and six-time overall winners, head into the tournament as overwhelming favourites. Since their 65–55 win over Angola in the 2015 third-place game in Yaoundé, the D’Tigress have remained undefeated in AfroBasket competition.
As the opening tip-off in Abidjan draws near, all eyes are on D’Tigress in their pursuit of history.
