Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the country’s basketball teams to stop participating in international tournaments for a period of two years. The decision not to play internationally would affect their chances of qualifying for the Paris 2024 Olympics and the FIBA World Cup in 2023.
“Following the unending crises that have plagued and nearly crippled basketball development in the country, President Muhammadu Buhari has today approved the immediate withdrawal of Nigeria from all International Basketball Competitions for a period of two years,” read a statement from the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development.
The country’s basketball federation was reportedly in danger of getting suspended last November due to internal leadership and election issues.
According to Sunday Dare, the Minister of Youth and Sports, the country’s withdrawal from international basketball competitions will allow the government to reinvigorate the sport at the grassroots level, and allow them to focus on the development of its domestic league, which was described as ‘morbid’.
Before the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Team Nigeria caught the attention of the international basketball community by defeating the United States in an exhibition game 90-87.
The D’Tigers were led by veteran NBA coach Mike Brown, who had a number of NBA players on his roster including: Jahlil Okafor, Gabe Vincent, Ekpe Udoh, Precious Achiuwa, Josh Okogie, Chimezie Metu and KZ Okpala.
The victory was the first time an African team had beaten the U.S.
Non-host countries that are bidding to join the Olympic qualifying tournament must participate in the FIBA World Cup in 2022 and 2023. The first two rounds of the Olympic qualifying tournament are
scheduled for play in 2023.
The FIBA World Cup will be held in 2023 and will be the first tournament to be hosted by multiple countries. The event will be held in the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia from August 25 to September 10.
The Nigeria Basketball Federation and FIBA had no commented on the issue.
If the D’Tigers of Nigeria do not participate in international tournaments for the entire two years, they will be considered ineligible to participate in the Paris 2024 Games.
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