D’Tigress Set for Homecoming Tournament in Abuja this July

The Nigeria Basketball Federation and the Nigeria women’s national team, the D’Tigress, are set to host a historic showcase on home soil.

The D’Tigress, led by record-breaking coach Rena Wakama, will play in Nigeria for the first time after winning five straight FIBA Women’s AfroBasket championships

The six-time African champions will take on Kenya and Togo in a homecoming event at Mo Arena in Abuja from 18-20 July 2025. As part of the homecoming, the players will help run ⁠women empowerment programmes as well as basketball camps.

“After putting together a welcome party for D’Tigress in Paris at the Olympic Games, we felt it was necessary to promote and showcase the incredible talents of these wonderful ladies in Nigeria,” said, Mathew Ohio, the Chief Executive Officer of El Carnaval. “We are excited to be a part of bringing home the best team in Africa.”

The NBBF’s Chairman of the Sponsorship Committee, Ugo Udezue, said it has always been the desire of the Federation’s President, Musa Kida, and the Board to create a fun atmosphere for the Nigerian fans to meet and greet with the players.

“The NBBF President mandated we make this event possible and bring our D’Tigress back home. This will be an exciting and fun atmosphere with a chance for fans to meet and interact with our players for the first time. We are grateful to our sponsors, and we continue to solicit more to make this event a beautiful one,” Ugo said.

This showcase follows the D’Tigress success at the Paris 2024 Olympics, where they made history as the first African team, male or female, to reach the quarterfinals, including defeating Canada and Australia.

The D’Tigress will play in this 2025 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, from 24 July to 3 August. Wakama’s side are drawn Group D alongside Mozambique and Rwanda.