Nigeria reverses ban on basketball teams from all international competitions

The Federal Government has rescinded its decision to suspend Nigeria’s basketball teams from all international competitions.

The Permanent Secretary Ministry of Youth and Sports Development Ismaila Abubakar disclosed this at a news conference in Abuja on Thursday.

He said the latest decision is based on a letter of appeal from the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), signed by Mister Musa Kida.

The annoucement comes as Nigerian female basketball team, D’Tigress had been kicked out of the 2022 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup after the Federal Government withdrew all teams from international competitions.

D’Tigress had qualified for the World Cup billed for Sydney, Australia, starting in September 2022, after defeating France and Mali in the Group B of the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2022 Qualifying Tournament in Belgrade.

FIBA’s decision comes after deliberations with the Nigeria Basketball Federation to see how the decision could be rescinded for the defending African champions to represent the continent fell through.

The global basketball body stated that Nigeria was withdrawn from participating in the tournament due to the failure of the NBBF to confirm Nigeria’s participation in the tournament.