Nigeria to Know FIBA U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup Opponents by February 4

The Nigeria U-19 Women’s Basketball Team will on Tuesday, February 4, know their opponents for the upcoming FIBA U19 Women’s Basketball World Cup 2025. in Brno, Czechia.

The tournament which is set to run from July 12 to 20, will feature 16 teams divided into four pots based on their strength and current FIBA World Ranking.

The draws will be conducted by the country’s former national team stars, Ivana Becerova and Eva Viteckova and will be streamed live on the official tournament website and YouTube channels.

Nigeria, who is seeded in Pot 4 alongside Hungary, Argentina, and Brazil, secured the second of two tickets to represent Africa in this year’s event by finishing as runners-up at the U18 Women’s AfroBasket last year, earning a second chance to make their World Cup debut in Brno, Czech Republic, this July.

Nigeria was initially set to make their debut in Chile by finishing second behind hosts Egypt in the 2010 FIBA Africa U18 Championship for Women in Cairo but they ended up not participating.

Nigerian guard Wandoo Marvis Hembam, who was a key part of Nigeria’s World Cup qualification with an average of 9 points and 3 assists at last year’s U18 African Championship in Pretoria, South Africa, says the World Cup opportunity could be a game-changer for the younger D’Tigresses.

“The year 2024 was a season of achievement and the biggest step in the journey of my career.
“Getting the ticket to represent Africa was the best moment for Nigerians in a long time. Nigeria has not participated in the World Cup, so getting the ticket was a moment of joy and prayers answered,” the 18-year-old explained.

Nigeria will look to make a historic debut when the tournament begins in July.