Nigeria’s D’Tigress have arrived in Berlin, Germany, ahead of the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup, scheduled to take place from September 4 to 13.
The six-time African champions were received by Nigeria’s Ambassador to Germany, Senator Ita Enang, Head of Chancery Chioma Aisha Okorie-Haidara, and other officials of the Nigerian diplomatic mission in Berlin.
Their arrival marks the final stage of preparations for the global tournament after a 37-day training camp that took the team across the United States, China and Spain.
D’Tigress played several friendly matches during the extended preparation period, including a three-game exhibition series against world No. 4 China.
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Nigeria narrowly lost the first meeting against the Asian side 70-67 on August 7 before suffering another close defeat two days later, going down 69-65 in Haikou.
However, D’Tigress responded strongly in the third encounter, beating China 88-77 at the Nanhai Sports Center Gymnasium in Foshan on August 12 to finish the series with an impressive victory.
The team subsequently travelled to Tenerife, where they continued their preparations against two European powerhouses.
D’Tigress lost 83-58 to Spain on August 21 before suffering another defeat the following day, falling 90-55 to Belgium.
The team had also held a training camp in April, during which they faced three WNBA franchises, the Los Angeles Sparks, Minnesota Lynx and Indiana Fever, as part of their build-up to the World Cup.
Nigeria are drawn in Group B of the 2026 World Cup alongside Hungary, South Korea and France.
D’Tigress will begin their campaign against South Korea on September 4 before facing Hungary the following day. They will conclude their group-stage fixtures against France on September 7.
The group-stage format will see the team that finishes top of each group progress directly to the quarter-finals, while the second- and third-placed teams will enter the qualification round for the remaining quarter-final spots.
D’Tigress will be returning to the World Cup after missing the 2022 edition despite qualifying, with funding challenges preventing their participation.
The Nigerians will now look to build on their historic run at the 2018 World Cup, when they reached the quarter-finals for the first time.
Their campaign in 2018 ended with a 71-40 defeat to eventual champions the United States in the last eight. Nigeria subsequently finished eighth after losing their classification matches against France and Canada, going down 84-62 and 73-72 respectively.
With a strong preparation programme behind them, D’Tigress will be hoping to equal or surpass that historic quarter-final appearance when the 2026 World Cup gets underway in Berlin.
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