Nigeria will host other African basketball teams in the Pre-Qualifiers in the journey to the Olympic Games in Paris. Nigeria was selected as the host of the tournament by the Federation International Basketball Association (FIBA) at the draws which took place in May.
The FIBA Pre-Olympics African Qualifier will hold at the Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos from August 12 to August 20. Eight teams including Senegal, Mali, Uganda, Congo Democratic Republic, Cameroun, Guinea, Tunisia, and host, Nigeria will slug out for a coveted spot to represent the continent at the next Olympic Games.
The teams are divided into two groups of four each with the top two teams in each group proceeding to the semi-finals. An African representative will emerge between the winners of both semi-final matches.
Currently ranked the first team in Africa, the Nigerian men’s Basketball team, D’Tigers have a high chance to be Africa’s representative at Paris 2024. Led by Coach Mike Brown, Head Coach of Sacramento Kings and NBA coach of the year, D’Tigers will be represented by 23 team members with 18 of them currently playing in the NBA, the world’s most rated Basketball league. Nigeria boasts of some of the top players in the tournament including Gabe Vincent, Josh Okogie, Jordan Nwora, Precious Achiuwa, Ayo Dosunmu, Chuma Okeke, and others who continue to make a mark.
Speaking ahead of the tournament, the President of the Nigerian Basketball Federation (NBBF), Dr. Engr. Ahmadu Musa Kida reaffirmed its commitment to a successful and hitch-free tournament with high expectations of great performance from Team Nigeria.
‘‘The opportunity to host the African Olympics Qualifier is a testament to our past hosting endeavors and the confidence of FIBA Africa in the NBBF. We are proud to showcase our country Nigeria, the beauty of Lagos, and the incredible talents of the D tigers to the world. We will continue to use our basketball to make Nigeria proud’’.
The 9-day tourney will be broadcast live to an estimated 40 million viewers in more than 60 countries and is expected to attract more than 5,000 spectators. The tournament will also recognize icons who have contributed to the development of Basketball in Nigeria through the years including former players, and administrators. Among the 40 teams in the pre-qualifying tournament stage, five teams – one each from Asia, Africa, the Americas, and two from Europe – will qualify for the final Olympic qualifying tournament in 2024. The Olympic Games will hold in Paris, France from July 26 to August 11.
