Politics Ruins it for Team Nigeria
The 2022 Women’s Basketball World Cup, which will take place in Australia in September and October, has replaced Nigeria with Mali. Following the Nigerian government’s decision to stop competing in international basketball for two years in May, the sport’s global governing organization, Fiba, made the announcement.
The Nigeria Basketball Federation’s participation in subsequent Fiba competitions, as well as any potential disciplinary actions, would be decided upon at a later time, according to Fiba. These actions appear to concern the men’s squad and their participation in the upcoming African World Cup qualifiers, which are scheduled to continue in Rwanda in July.
“It has become clear that given the circumstances created by the government’s decision, the NBBF is unable to confirm its participation in the Fiba Women’s Basketball World Cup 2022,” a statement said.
In order to assure the effective staging of a major international event and to maintain the integrity of the competition, it was noted that the decision had been made “given the various strict deadlines that cannot be postponed.”
Mali has been allowed to participate in place of Nigeria since they finished as the second-best team in Group B of Serbia’s qualifying competition in February. In May, Fiba issued a warning, stating that the government’s decision to form its own temporary body would prevent Nigerian basketball from competing abroad for more than two years.
Following a protracted leadership dispute over control of the NBBF, the government withdrew from all international basketball.
After two different elections, Musa Kida and the then-incumbent Tijani Umar emerged as the heads of two factions claiming the power of the NBBF, which is when the issues started.
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