Nigeria has named a 12-man squad for the first window of the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup African qualifiers as D’Tigers prepare to open their campaign on Thursday in Tunis.
Coach Abdulrahman Mohammed confirmed the roster ahead of the team’s departure, with Nigeria set to begin their Group C fixtures against hosts Tunisia on Thursday.
The group also includes Rwanda and Guinea, with matches scheduled against them on November 29 and 30, respectively.
Former Afrobasket captain Ike Nwamu headlines the squad, returning as one of the side’s most experienced figures.
He is joined by guards Stan Okoye and Mike Nuga, while Christopher Obekpa, known for his shot-blocking and defensive consistency, anchors the frontcourt.
Mohammed has also included three home-based players, which reflects his intention to blend overseas experience with domestic hunger and competition.
The full squad announced comprises Olisa Akonobi, Paul Dibal, Chingka Garba, Morris Udeze, Mike Nuga, Ike Nwamu, Christopher Obekpa, Jordan Ogundiran, Augustine Okafor, Stan Okoye, Ugo Simon and Talib Zanna.
The Nigeria Basketball Federation said the team is “locked and loaded” for the opening window as anticipation builds around the country’s World Cup bid, per First Zealmediacast. It stated that the qualifiers offer an opportunity for the team to reassert itself on the continent following several inconsistent campaigns in recent years.
The African qualifiers will run from November 2025 to March 2027, beginning with 16 teams that reached Afrobasket 2025.
They are divided into four groups of four in a double round-robin format, with the top three from each group advancing to the second round.
Nigeria, placed eighth on FIBA’s African power rankings, will need to navigate a demanding qualification pathway that ultimately offers only five World Cup slots.
In the second phase, 12 teams will be re-grouped into two pools of six, with all first-round results carried over. Each side will then play six further matches, and only the top two teams in each group, along with the best third-placed team, will qualify for the World Cup in Doha.
Nigeria begins its journey in Tunis with the objective of making a strong start to a long campaign. The team last reached the finals of the showpiece event in 2019 when they knocked out in the first round and failed to qualify for the 2023 edition co-hosted by the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia. (PUNCH Sports Extra reports)
