Nigeria’s D’Tigress maintain 8th position in the latest FIBA women’s world ranking which was released on March 20, 2025.
D’Tigress, who are reigning African champions, are the only team from the continent in the top 10 alongside other heavyweights in the women’s basketball.
The new ranking was published just days after the conclusion of the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2026 Qualifying Tournaments.
After opening their qualifying campaign in Lyon with a dominant 70–37 victory over Colombia, D’Tigress lost to South Korea by 77–60 before bouncing back with an impressive 101–84 win against the Philippines.
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Despite a spirited second-half comeback against hosts France, D’Tigress lost 93–86 before they rounded off the campaign with another defeat, this time going down by 81–73 to Germany.
At the top of the rankings, the USA maintain their spot at number one, while France moved to second ahead of Australia while China and Belgium complete the top five.
Mali occupy 18th in the world making them the only other African side in the top 20. Senegal sit at 22nd, while Mozambique and Cameroon are 34th and 37th respectively.
The biggest climbers are South Sudan, who for the first time ever can call themselves a Top 50 nation. Even if they were not able to dig out a precious maiden win at the Qualifying Tournament in Wuhan, their participation at the event for the first time contributed to a leap of 13 spots into 42nd place.
The FIBA world ranking will be used to help form the seedings for the World Cup 2026 draw on April 21.
By James Agberebi
