The Federal Government has fulfilled its pledge to Nigeria’s women’s national basketball team, D’Tigress, following their triumphant 2025 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket campaign in Côte d’Ivoire.
The National Sports Commission announced on Monday that the team received their national honour certificates and housing allocation documents, marking the official presentation of the promised rewards. The ceremony took place in Lyon, France, where D’Tigress are currently competing in the FIBA Women’s World Cup Qualifying Tournament.
These awards honour a commitment made after D’Tigress’ outstanding performance at the continental championship. On August 4, 2025, President Bola Tinubu unveiled a special reward package for the team after their record-breaking victory: each player was awarded the national honour of Order of the Niger (OON), a cash prize of $100,000, and a flat in Abuja. Technical crew members, led by head coach Rena Wakama, received $50,000 each.
President Tinubu hosted the team in Abuja to celebrate their unprecedented fifth consecutive AfroBasket title. Similar honours and incentives were also extended to the Super Falcons following their 10th Women’s Africa Cup of Nations victory in Morocco.
D’Tigress clinched the AfroBasket title on August 3, 2025, defeating Mali 78–64 in the final to secure their seventh continental crown. Key contributions from Amy Okonkwo and Ezinne Kalu were pivotal as Nigeria held a 61–56 lead entering the final quarter and maintained composure to seal a historic fifth straight championship. The win extended D’Tigress’ unbeaten run in African competition to 29 games since 2015, underscoring their dominance in the sport.
Currently, D’Tigress are participating in the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup Qualifying Tournament in Lyon. The team has registered victories over Colombia (70–37) and the Philippines (101–84) but fell to South Korea (77–60) and France (93–86). Their campaign concludes with a match against Germany on March 17.
