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D’Tigers AfroBasket crisis: B’ball players lament unfair treatment

Basketball players have lamented the controversy surrounding D’Tigers’ trip to Tunisia for the 2025 FIBA AfroBasket qualifiers window, saying it’s a reflection of how they’ve been poorly treated by the Nigeria Basketball Federation.

There was anxiety among basketball stakeholders on Wednesday after the NBBF announced that former African champions D’Tigers had been withdrawn from the 2025 FIBA AfroBasket qualifiers, which begins today in Tunisia.

According to a release by the NBBF, the withdrawal from the qualifiers was due to the inability of the Ministry of Sports to provide the federation with the needed funds for the trip.

A few hours later, the federation again said it was making last-minute attempts for D’Tigers to participate in the tournament.

“The federation is aiming to finalise a roster and gather funds in time to play AfroBasket qualifiers,” a post read on the D’Tigers X handle.

The PUNCH has, however, gathered that the team arrived in Tunisia Thursday ahead of the qualifiers.

Some basketball players, who spoke with The PUNCH , said they weren’t surprised by the NBBF’s statement, adding that they had been unfairly treated over the years.

Former First Bank player, Theresa Dangosu, said, “At this point in time, there’s nothing to be shocked about when it concerns basketball because of the type of leadership we have in the NBBF, and we can also extend it to the country as a whole.

“The main focus has always been placed on football, as though there aren’t other sports in Nigeria.

“Our women D’Tigress won their fourth consecutive AfroBasket, there weren’t any encomiums from the government to them, they just qualified for the Olympics, and still everyone is silent.

“Even with how badly everyone said the Super Eagles performed at the AFCON and came second against hosts, Ivory Coast, they still got welcomed, celebrated and given honours, awards, lands and money.”

She added, “I think we all know where the priorities of the Nigerian government lie when it comes to sports.

“And can you blame the government? No, because we have a failed system in the NBBF, people who cannot go to the government with the needs of the federation because of how much they’ve abused those privileges in the past. This is a clear case of incompetence because what does an incompetent body do? Blame everyone every time for their failures, nothing is ever their fault.

“This is where we are in the affairs of governance with the NBBF and the country as a whole, so nothing surprises me again.”

Marilyn Ogoigbe, who plays for First Bank basketball club, said NBBF officials cared less about the players.

She said, “About this, I’m not surprised at all, I mean the people in charge don’t care about players, they are all about themselves.

“A tournament they ought to have prepared for and they decided to withdraw days before jump ball because of lack of funds. What’s the ministry doing about it? I mean they were able to sponsor the Super Eagles to AFCON, why is basketball always different?”

Former Rivers Hoopers star Austin Akpejiori, who now features for Tunisian side Union Sportive El Ansa, said he was left embarrassed after the NBBF announced they had withdrawn D’Tigers form the tournament.

“Truth is I wasn’t shocked, I was embarrassed. How low can we get as a basketball community? The federation keeps staining our white.”

It is not the first time that paucity of funds has threatened D’Tigers’ participation in a major basketball tournament.

In 2019, the team nearly missed out on featuring in the 2019 FIBA World Cup until a late intervention by the then Muhammadu Buhari-led government.

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King Ademola Lookman Brings Out His Love

Like his father opened up, Ademola Lookman is essentially a private person, who prefers to do his stuff without all the media blitz.

But on one of his biggest days, when he was crowned Africa’s best player, he could not but make the first public appearance with the woman in his life – Jayda Love.

‘Adebobo’ would even steal a moment on his big night to kiss his American beau.

The 27-year-old Super Eagles star is still single.

Rumours of this romance first surfaced in the summer when the couple appeared to have spent the holidays together.

This was after ‘Mola’ scored his unforgettable hat-trick for Atalanta to win the UEFA Europa League in super style.

Jayda, an Information Technology specialist is based in Dallas, Texas, graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2021 with a degree in public relations.

She follows Ademola Lookman and his foundation on social media.

She is also known to have visited him at his Italian base.

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FIFA Rankings: Nigeria’s Super Eagles End 2024 Ahead Of Ghana, South Africa, Cameroon

Nigeria’s Super Eagles have ended 2024 ranked as Africa’s fifth-best team in FIFA’s latest global standings, released Thursday morning, Soccernet.ng reports.

Despite a challenging end to the year that saw the team drop eight places to 44th globally, the Super Eagles still managed to hold their own against eternal continental rivals like South Africa, Cameroon, and Ghana.

This year’s ranking represents a mixed bag for Nigeria. While the team retained its fifth spot in Africa, their decline in global rankings was driven by underwhelming performances in key fixtures.

Most notably, the Super Eagles struggled during the final rounds of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers, securing just a solitary point in lackluster outings against the Benin Republic and Rwanda.

Nigeria were forced to a scored draw by the Cheetahs in Abidjan only for Samuel Chukwueze’s excellent strike to end up as consolation in a 2-1 home defeat to the Wasps.

Looking at year-to-year standings, at this time in 2023, Nigeria’s Super Eagles were ranked 42nd in the world but sixth on the continent.

Elsewhere, South Africa’s Bafana Bafana showed marked improvement, climbing th

Cameroon and Ghana, however, endured disappointing campaigns. Ghana’s Black Stars finished the year ranked 77th, a stark reminder of the ongoing struggles within the Black Stars setup.

At the continental summit, Morocco retained their status as the continent’s best, finishing as Africa’s top-ranked team in 14th place globally.

Senegal (17th), Egypt (33rd), and Algeria (37th) rounded out the top four, with Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Mali, Tunisia, and South Africa completing the top 10.

Globally, Argentina retained their position as FIFA’s top-ranked team, followed by France, Spain, England, and Brazil.

With 1,181 international matches played across the calendar year, the rankings reflected consistent dominance from the world’s elite teams.

As Nigeria enter 2025, all eyes will be on the Super Eagles to reignite their competitive spark, with the World Cup qualifiers returning in the first quarter of the year.

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Mbappé: Would Have Been ‘Fun’ To Play With Cristiano Ronaldo

Kylian Mbappé has said he wishes he could have played with Real Madrid legend Cristiano Ronaldo, the club’s all-time leading scorer.

The France international has been a teammate of other football icons but would have relished playing alongside Ronaldo, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner and Portugal captain.

“I’ve played with great players: Lionel Messi, Neymar, [Antoine] Griezmann, [Paul] Pogba, [Karim] Benzema…” Mbappé told BeINsports.

“It would have been fun to play with Cristiano Ronaldo — it’s going to be very difficult now — but I was lucky enough to play against him, a legend of the sport.”

Ronaldo, 39, left the Spanish giants in 2018 now plays for Saudi Pro-League side Al Nassr.

Mbappé helped Madrid win the Intercontinental Cup on Wednesday, his second title since joining the Spanish giants in the summer after his contract with Paris Saint-Germain expired.

Speaking to young people with disabilities as part of the BeUNITED program, Mbappe, 25, said he would have never left Paris Saint-Germain had it not been to join Madrid.

“I went to the biggest club in the world,” the 2018 World Cup winner said.

“I have always said that it was the only club I would have left PSG for. If I hadn’t been able to go to Madrid, I would have stayed at PSG all my life.”

Although Mbappé has been prolific for Madrid so far, he has faced criticism for his all-round performances with the team having suffered some high-profile defeats earlier in the season.

“Since I was 14, everyone told me I was going to be great,” Mbappé said.

“But when you’re big, sometimes you feel small…At first I was too hungry and it played tricks on me because I was impatient. But I have passion and this competitive side.

“My dream now is to win trophies with my team, not individual awards. What great title is left for me? The Champions League, but I’m in the best club in the world for that.”