NBBF in last-ditch effort to send D’Tigers to AfroBasket qualifiers

The Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), which on Wednesday, announced that it was withdrawing the men’s national team from participating in the 2025 AfroBasket qualifiers, which begins in Tunisia this weekend, yesterday said it had started moves to get the team to feature in the competition.

Nigeria is drawn in Group B of the 2025 AfroBasket qualifiers alongside Cape Verde, Libya and Uganda.

The team on Wednesday announced its withdrawal from the pre-championship tournament due to the NBBF’s inability to secure the necessary funding from the Federal Government.

In a tweet on its official X (formerly Twitter) handle, the NBBF lamented that it was withdrawing from the qualifiers despite convincing members of the 2020 Olympics squad to participate in the championship.

It followed the tweet with an official statement, which read: “NBBF announces non-participation of D’Tigers in men’s AfroBasket qualifiers Window 1, scheduled to hold in Monsatir, Tunisia, due to paucity of funds from the government.

“However, the NBBF extends its gratitude to all players/officials, who previously committed to participate for their patriotism, showcasing their dedication to the national team.”

But yesterday, in another tweet on its X handle, the NBBF said it “is now making last-minute attempts for D’Tigers to play this weekend.”

The federation added that it is trying to make up a roster and gather funds to play in the qualifiers.

A top official, who pleaded anonymity, said that the Ministry of Sports called the federation and pleaded with it to source funds for the qualifiers, promising to release the money within three weeks.

He said: “The earlier announcement by the NBBF and the furore that followed it made the ministry contact the federation’s leadership and promised to raise the funds within three weeks.

“We have contacted the players on the latest development and they are now set for the qualifiers. The ministry’s delay in committing to the project more than four months after NBBF submitted a request for funds affected the team’s training, but we hope they will do well to qualify for the 2025 AfroBasket Championship.”

He said the NBBF initially did not want to borrow money for the championship because some of the funds they borrowed in the past have not been refunded by the Ministry of Sports.

Diana Mary Nsan, a Special Assistant to Sports Minister, John Enoh, told The Guardian, yesterday, that the players were set to arrive in Tunisia early for their first game of the qualifiers following the resolution of the funding issues.

“The D’Tigers will play at the qualifiers, the players are set to leave for Monastir thanks to the minister’s intervention,” she said.

Also in a statement, yesterday, NBBF President, Musa Kida, applauded the minister for “dousing FIBA’s anger and pessimists, who do not understand the internal financial situation that the NBBF is faced with, especially the huge outsourcing liabilities of the NBBF that are still outstanding unpaid from 2019.”

Kida said: “Yes, even though this is coming late, it is heart-warming that our boys would eventually take part in the qualifiers for the 2025 Afrobasket championship.

“The board of the NBBF is deeply grateful to the Honorable Minister of Sports, Senator John Owan Enoh, for coming good with his timely support and of course, saving the country from disgrace, and another FIBA ban.”

If they make it to Tunisia on time, D’Tigers will play their opening game against Libya today. Their second match is against Uganda tomorrow before the final game against Cape Verde on Sunday.