African champions, Nigeria’s D’Tigress, have been placed in a tough group alongside France, Germany, Korea, Colombia, and the Philippines for the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2026 Qualifying Tournament D.

The draw, conducted on October 7 in Mies, Switzerland, confirmed the final groupings for the qualification stage ahead of next year’s World Cup in Berlin, Germany. D’Tigress will compete in Lyon-Villeurbanne, France, from March 11–17, 2026, one of four cities selected by FIBA to host the qualifiers.

Although Nigeria have already secured automatic qualification as champions of the FIBA Women’s AfroBasket 2025, they will still take part in the qualifiers alongside other Continental Cup winners, the USA, Australia, and Belgium, as well as host nation Germany. Their participation ensures a strong competitive field and offers valuable preparation ahead of the World Cup.

The qualifying tournaments will be staged across four cities, Wuhan (China), Lyon-Villeurbanne (France), San Juan (Puerto Rico), and Istanbul (Türkiye), featuring 24 teams in total. Each venue will host six teams, with 11 World Cup spots still up for grabs. The top three teams from each group will secure qualification to join the automatically qualified nations in Berlin.

For Nigeria, it’s a prime opportunity to test their mettle against world-class opposition and fine-tune their chemistry before the global stage.

Full Draw:

Wuhan (China): Mali, South Sudan, Brazil, Belgium, Czech Republic, China

Lyon-Villeurbanne (France): Colombia, Philippines, Germany, Korea, France, Nigeria

San Juan (Puerto Rico): New Zealand, Puerto Rico, USA, Senegal, Italy, Spain

Istanbul (Türkiye): Hungary, Türkiye, Argentina, Australia, Canada, Japan