The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) has invited Mali to the 2022 FIBA Women’s World Cup following the withdrawal of Team Nigeria (D’Tigress).
Nigeria will not be participating at the World Cup due to the two-year ban placed on the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) by the Nigerian Government. The federation has been blighted by corruption.
FIBA said in a statement on Thursday that the World Cup cannot be postponed because of logistics, adding that it chose Mali as the next ranked team from Group B of the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2022 Qualifiers.
The statement said, “Given the multiple strict deadlines that cannot be postponed in order to ensure the successful staging of a major international event (visa procedures, schedules, ticket sales, accommodations, friendly games, preliminary rosters, flight tickets, accreditations, etc.) and to protect the integrity of the competition, the FIBA Executive Committee has decided as follows:
“Nigeria’s withdrawal from the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2022 is confirmed. Mali, as the next ranked team from Group B of the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2022 Qualifying Tournament in Belgrade, is invited to participate in the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2022.”
The statement added that FIBA will announce whether there will be any other decisions related to the NBBF’s participation in other FIBA competitions and any potential disciplinary measures in due course.
