The Nigerian women’s national basketball team was turned away from the opening ceremony of the 2024 Olympic Games, the Associated Press reported on Friday.
The team, known colloquially as D’Tigress, had travelled over two hours from Lille, France to Paris for the procession. An anonymous source told the AP that, upon arrival, D’Tigress were denied access to their boat by an official of the Nigeria Olympic Committee. The official stated that there was no more room on the boat, which Nigeria was sharing with Niger and Norway.
The team tried to return to Lille, where the women’s basketball group play games will take place, but were unable to make it to the departing busses. D’Tigress stayed the night in Paris and missed their morning practice session. As Nigerian representatives have not commented on the situation, no more information is available at this time.
Sadly, Friday’s mishap is reflective of ongoing issues plaguing Nigerian basketball. The Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) and Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) have earned poor reputations in recent years. In preparations for these Olympics, institutional conflict within Nigerian basketball has once again begun to rear its ugly head. Queen John-Moseph, the communications manager of Basketball Africa…
