ABIDJAN (Cote d'Ivoire) - The biennial FIBA U16 Women's AfroBasket is three months away from its ninth edition.
And for the first time since 2019, the Rwandan capital of Kigali will host the event.
This year's tournament is tentatively set for 18 - 27 July.
In this article we bring you things to know about the FIBA U16 Women's AfroBasket.
WHAT'S THE MAIN GOAL?
As well as the prestige of taking home a continental trophy and giving promising players the chance to develop their basketball skills on an international stage, the tournament also serves as a qualifier for the FIBA U17 Women's Basketball World Cup, where the top two finishers will represent the continent on the world stage.
HOW LONG CAN MALI REMAIN DOMINANT?
As teams across FIBA Africa's seven zones battle it out for a place in the final round, the big question on everyone's lips is how to break the stranglehold of Mali, who have won the tournament since its inception in 2009.
Mali have won all eight editions of the tournament while the team that came closest to dethroning Mali were Egypt, who won 6 silver and 1 bronze.
What makes Mali's success even more remarkable is the fact that all nine of their titles have been won away from home, with the exception of the 2009 edition when they celebrated in front of their own fans in Bamako.
MALI'S RESILIENCE
Mali's resilience has remained unbroken as they have held off the likes of Angola (1 silver and 5 bronze), Nigeria (1 silver), Algeria (1 bronze) and Mozambique (1 bronze).
African champions Mali have represented the continent seven times at the FIBA U17 Women's Basketball World Cup.
FORMER U16 WOMEN'S AFROBASKET STARS
AWA KEITA: Emerged from the FIBA U17 Women's World Cup and was part of the Mali Women's National Basketball Team that won the FIBA U18 Women's AfroBasket 2024, defeating Nigeria 76-56 to secure their seventh title and a place at the FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup 2025.
She played for the Mali national team in numerous tournaments, including the FIBA U19 World Championships.
QUALIFIERS
So far, Mali and hosts Rwanda are the only teams qualified for this year's tournament. The remaining spots will be determined through qualifiers tournaments.
MARIAM COULIBALY: She was one of the standout players for Mali at the 2014 FIBA U17 Women's World Cup and has progressed to play for the senior national team, winning AfroBasket silver medal in 2021 Cameroon, bronze medals on home soil in 2017, 2019 and 2023.
SIKA KONE: Currently playing for Washington Mystics of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), she also played for CB Avenida of the Liga Femenina de Baloncesto and also for SPAR Gran Canaria, where she started her professional career in Spain in 2019 after emerging as one of Mali's top players at the 2018 FIBA U17 Women's World Cup.
JANA ELALFY: She began her international basketball career at the age of 15 when she represented Egypt at the U16 African Championships. As we wrote this article ElAlfy was getting ready to help the University of Connecticut in the NCAA Final-Four 2025.
BELLA MUREKATETE: Murekatete is currently one of the key players of Rwanda senior. She came a long to be a star that she is today.
A four-year US college basketball standout with the Washington State Cougars, the 6-foot-3 forward was a revelation at the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup Preliminary Tournament in her native Rwanda last year.
ROSA GALA: One of the top prospects in the early days of her professional career, Gala has gone on to earn a place in the Angolan senior team and is currently a viable option for Palancas Negras.
FIBA