September 27, (THEWILL) – Nigeria’s basketball story has produced a striking contrast in recent years. D’Tigress have become Africa’s dominant women’s national team, winning a record fifth consecutive FIBA Women’s AfroBasket title in 2025 and their seventh overall. D’Tigers, meanwhile, have repeatedly found themselves fighting battles away from the court, including funding problems that have threatened their participation in major competitions.
The contrast is not necessarily evidence that one national team is deliberately favoured over the other. But the different experiences raise a bigger question about how Nigeria funds and administers elite basketball.
In September, the National Sports Commission confirmed that each D’Tigress player had received the naira equivalent of $100,000 as part of President Bola Tinubu’s reward for the 2025 AfroBasket triumph, while officials received the equivalent of $50,000. The package also included three-bedroom apartments in Abuja and national honours, with the NSC saying the entire reward had now been fulfilled.
That payment represented recognition for extraordinary success. Yet the experience of D’Tigers tells a very different story about the difficulty of simply getting a national team onto the court. When Winning Brings Rewards And Competing Becomes the Battle
In February 2024, D’Tigers announced their withdrawal from the opening window of the 2025 FIBA AfroBasket qualifiers because of what the NBBF described as a lack of government funding.
The federation said players had committed to the campaign, but the necessary money had not been released. Reports at the time indicated that flight tickets to Tunisia had not been secured. The situation became so serious that the team initially appeared set to miss the qualifying window altogether.
The crisis was eventually resolved after then Sports Minister John Enoh intervened, allowing D’Tigers to travel to Tunisia. But the episode exposed a vulnerability that has continued to surface: Nigeria’s national basketball programme can become dependent on funds being released in time for basic participation.
That vulnerability resurfaced in July 2026 during the FIBA Basketball World Cup qualifiers in Luanda.
D’Tigers had just beaten Tunisia 84-81 when reports emerged that unpaid accommodation and participation fees were creating an administrative problem around the Nigerian delegation. A FIBA official was reported to have raised concerns over outstanding payments, while another report said the team faced the possibility of eviction from its hotel. On court, the players continued to perform. Off it, the financial uncertainty remained a distraction.
That is perhaps the most revealing part of the contrast. D’Tigers’ problems have not necessarily reflected an absence of sporting ability. They have repeatedly demonstrated that they can compete when given the opportunity. The question is whether the administrative system can consistently provide that opportunity.
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The Historical Pattern
The problem also predates the current administration. The 2024 AfroBasket qualification withdrawal was not described by the NBBF as a sporting decision. It was explicitly attributed to a lack of government funding. The federation subsequently reversed the decision after arrangements were made for the team to travel.
For a national team, such uncertainty has consequences beyond one tournament.
Qualifying campaigns require preparation camps, international travel, accommodation, technical staff, medical support and player logistics. When funding is delayed, the preparation window becomes compressed and coaches are forced to solve administrative problems that should ordinarily be settled before competition begins.
D’Tigress have also experienced funding challenges at various points. The difference is that their sustained success has increasingly brought public recognition and presidential rewards, culminating in the latest $100,000-per-player payment.
The reward itself was not routine operational funding. It was a presidential package for winning the continental championship. That distinction matters: the payment demonstrates recognition of achievement, but does not by itself solve the underlying question of how Nigeria should sustainably finance both national teams.
An NBBF Election Adds Another Layer. The debate arrives as the Nigeria Basketball Federation prepares for a leadership transition.
FIBA has set October 15, 2026 as the deadline for the current NBBF board led by Musa Kida, with a new administration expected to take office afterwards.
Several voices around the election have made funding, commercialisation, grassroots development and player welfare central to their arguments.
One of them is former Plateau Peaks player Etudaiye Suleiman Hassan, who has publicly backed Energy Commission Director-General Mustapha Abdullahi and argued that Nigerian basketball needs a different administrative approach. Hassan has pointed to areas, including sustainable domestic leagues, stronger clubs and state associations, grassroots development and financial accountability.
Abdullahi’s campaign has similarly called for greater corporate investment, international partnerships, youth development and stronger links between basketball and the wider Nigerian economy. Those are campaign positions, not yet evidence of what a future administration would deliver.
What they do demonstrate is that the funding question has become part of the wider conversation about the federation’s future.
The Bigger Question for Nigerian Basketball
The central issue is therefore not simply whether D’Tigress receive too much or D’Tigers receive too little. It is whether Nigeria has built a system capable of funding elite basketball before success arrives, rather than relying on extraordinary performances to trigger extraordinary rewards.
D’Tigress have earned their recognition. Five consecutive AfroBasket titles and seven championships overall represent an extraordinary sporting achievement and the government’s reward reflects that.
But D’Tigers’ experience shows the other side of the equation. A national team should not have to reach the point of withdrawing from qualifiers or facing reported accommodation problems before funding becomes an urgent national conversation.
The incoming NBBF administration will inherit both sides of that story.
It will inherit a women’s programme that has established itself as a continental powerhouse, a men’s programme trying to rebuild its international standing, and a domestic basketball structure that stakeholders increasingly want to make more commercially sustainable.
The real test will be whether the federation can turn those competing narratives into one coherent system — one where national teams are properly funded to compete, players are supported consistently, and success is rewarded without making rewards the substitute for sustainable investment.
For Nigerian basketball, that may be the most important game of all.
Olumide Atiba is a sports journalist with THEWILL, known for his keen news sense and compelling storytelling. He has built a reputation for turning leads into clear, well-structured reports that resonate with readers, with a strong focus on football coverage
