Your Guide to the 2023 FIBA Women's AfroBasket
The biennial FIBA Women's AfroBasket is back, so is the excitement of witnessing some of Africa's best players in action. But before you get hyped about the tournament, we bring you key things to know.
KIGALI (Rwanda) - The biennial FIBA Women's AfroBasket is back, so is the excitement of witnessing some of Africa's best players in action.
But before you get hyped about the 12-nation tournament, FIBA.basketball brings you your guide to the 2023 FIBA Women's AfroBasket.
WHEN: The tournament starts on Friday, July 28 and finishes on Saturday, August 5.
28 is the total number of games for the tournament.
WHERE: Kigali has unofficially been named as the capital of African basketball. Over the past two years the Rwandan capital has hosted the biggest basketball events on the continent, including the 2021 FIBA AfroBasket and the Basketball Africa League (BAL).
PARTICIPATING TEAMS: The 12 teams have been divided into four groups of three teams each. Group A: Angola, Cote d'Ivoire, Rwanda; Group B: Cameroon, Guinea, Mozambique; Group C: Mali, Senegal, Uganda; Group D: DR Congo, Egypt, Nigeria.
HOW TO WATCH THE GAMES: Fans wanting to attend games at BK Arena in Kigali can purchase tickets on the online platform TICQET, according to the Rwandan Basketball Federation (FERWABA). CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE YOUR TICKETS.
Another option to watch the 2023 Women's AfroBasket is the COURTSIDE 1891.
Learn more about the tournament's full schedule. CLICK HERE.
WHAT'S AT STAKE: Besides crowning the 2023 African champions, the two finalists will qualify for FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament (WOQT) taking place in February 2024.
According to FIBA's competition system, a total of 16 teams will participate in one of four global FIBA WOQTs. Twelve of them, including the 2024 Olympics host (France*) and the winner of the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2022 (USA), will qualify to the Women's Olympic Basketball Tournament.
The next Olympic Games will take place in Paris in 2024 from July 26 to August 11.
NIGERIA: Winners of the last three editions of the tournament, Nigeria will try to become the first team - since Senegal did it in 1970s - to win four Championships titles in a row.
However, unlike previous editions of the tournament, where Nigeria easily beat most of their opponents, D'Tigress - who are on a 19-0 unbeaten run in Africa since 2015 - are likely to be challenged by every team this time round because of the relatively unknown roster they assembled for Kigali.
REMATCHES: There will be a number of rematches during the Group Phase in Kigali.
In Group A, Angola will face Cote d'Ivoire, a team they lost to 62-57 in the 2021 Classification Round for the Seventh Place.
In Group B, Mozambique beat Guinea 88-47 in the 2017 edition of the Women's AfroBasket in Bamako.
Nigeria beat DR Congo 79-46 in 2019 in Dakar
In Group C, Senegal hold a 2-0 head-to-head advantage over Mali. The lionesses not only defeated Mali 57-38 in 2015 edition of the tournament in Yaounde, but they also edged their neighbours Mali 58-53 in the 2019 Women's Pre-Olympic Africa Tournament in Maputo.
In Group D, Nigeria are familiar to DR Congo and Egypt.
Reigning champions Nigeria outclassed Egypt 106-72 in Bamako in 2017 and they got the better of DR Congo 87-47 in the Malian capital, where Egypt dispatched the Congolese 99-72.
DID YOU KNOW?: That Aya Traore is the only former Women's AfroBasket MVP competing in Kigali. Traore, who turned 40 on Thursday, July 27, won the award in 2009 and 2015.
Fatou Dieng
With the Paris Olympics coming up next year, we bring you a list of former Olympians heading to the Kigali showdown:
Elizabeth Balogun and Pallas Akpanah (Nigeria/Tokyo 2020), Aya Traore and Fatou Dieng (Senegal/Rio 2016 ), and Nadir Manuel (Angola/London 2012).
MOST APPEARANCES AT WOMEN'S AFROBASKET: Two-time African champions Nadir Manuel (Angola) and Aya Traore (Senegal) and three-time champion Sarah Ogoke (Nigeria) have displayed their talent in six editions of the tournament.
Manuel featured in 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2019 and 2021; Traore showcased her game in 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2017 and Ogoke appeared in the tournament in 2011, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2021.
Manuel, Traore and Ogoke are followed by Mozambique ace Leia Dongue, who, at the age of 32, has appeared in the tournament five times (2009, 2011, 2013, 2015 and 2019).
Nadir Manuel
YACINE DIOP v SORAIA DEGHEIDY: Two of the players to watch out for in Kigali, Yacine Diop (Senegal) and Soraya Degheidy (Egypt) have come a long way.
In 2012, Diop led Senegal to the FIBA U18 Women's African Championship title while being named the tournament's MVP.
Degheidy joined Diop in the All-Tournament team alongside Houda Hamrouni (Tunisia), Mali duo of Mariam Kone and Aminata Traore.
From left to right: Aminata Traore, Yacine Diop, Mariam Kone, Soraya Degheidy and Houda Hamrouni
The two guards have been making headlines in African basketball for over a decade despite being under-30.
MOUSTAPHA GAYE: There's a number of first-timers coaching in the tournament, leaving Senegalese Moustapha Gaye as the only one to have won the Women's AfroBasket (2009 and 2015).
FEMALE COACH: Newly appointed by the Nigerian Basketball Federation, Rena Wakama is the only female head coach at the 2023 FIBA Women's AfroBasket.
PREDICTIONS: Mali, Senegal, and Egypt look strong enough to reach the podium places.
FIBA