Nigeria Risk Missing Zone 3 Africa Women’s Basketball League Qualifiers
Nigeria could be at risk of missing the Africa Women’s Basketball League qualifiers after Zone 3 confirmed the teams registered for its preliminary tournament in Monrovia, Liberia.
The Zone 3 preliminary competition is scheduled to take place from October 4 to 10, 2026, with four teams currently listed to battle for two qualification places in the final round.
The participating teams are Energie Basketball Club of Benin, Flames Basketball, D-Rockas Basketball Club of Liberia and Friends Basketball Association of Côte d’Ivoire.
Two teams from the Monrovia tournament will advance to the final round, scheduled for Alexandria, Egypt, from December 11 to 20, 2026.
Nigeria, however, is conspicuously absent from the list of registered teams released by Zone 3.
In a communication signed by Léa Kane, Head of Competitions, Africa, Zone 3 informed national federations about the preliminary tournament and urged interested federations to commence the necessary registration formalities.
The zone has set September 10, 2026, as the deadline for federations that have not yet registered but wish to participate to submit their participation forms.
With only a few days left before the deadline, the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) will need to act quickly if Nigeria is to secure representation in the competition.
The situation is further complicated by the fact that Nigeria’s domestic women’s basketball league season is yet to be concluded.
That could leave the federation with limited time to identify a club, complete registration and prepare adequately for the continental assignment.
Nigeria has traditionally been one of Africa’s leading basketball nations, making its absence from the initial Zone 3 list a notable development.
Missing the preliminary stage would also represent a setback for Nigeria’s women’s club basketball ambitions, particularly with the continental competition providing an important platform for clubs to compete at the highest level in Africa.
For now, Nigeria’s participation remains unconfirmed, with September 10 serving as a crucial deadline for the NBBF to determine whether a Nigerian club will enter the Zone 3 qualifiers.
The development leaves Nigerian women’s basketball facing a race against time to avoid missing out on the continental competition.
