Thanks to a last-minute intervention from the Ministry of Sports Development, Nigeria’s men’s national basketball team, D’Tigers, will now compete in the 2025 FIBA Afrobasket qualifiers in Monastir, Tunisia.
Previously, the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) had withdrawn D’Tigers from the qualifiers, citing a lack of funds.
However, in a statement released yesterday, the Sports Ministry announced that D’Tigers have been cleared to participate in the qualifiers.
The statement revealed that the Minister of Sports Development, John Owah, has assured that outstanding debts would be settled within three weeks.
It stated, “There have been palpable concerns in the basketball community when it seemed that the team would not be participating at the 2025 Afrobasket qualifiers window-1 due to the lack of funds that the Ministry of Sports is facing.
“However, the Honourable Minister for Sports Development, Senator John Owan Enoh, has given his consent for the NBBF leadership to do all that they can to see that the D’Tigers participate in the qualifiers, with an assurance that the necessary funds will be approved and the funds released within the next three weeks, to pay for the flight tickets of the team, allowances and other logistics for the qualifiers.
“We can now authoritatively confirm that the D’Tigers are on their way to Tunisia and should arrive at the nick of time for the qualifiers and their match.”
NBBF President Ahmadu Musa-Kida commented, “Yes, even though this is coming late, it is heart-warming that our boys would eventually participate in the 2025 Afrobasket championship qualifiers.
