The four semifinalists of the 2025 Women’s AfroBasket—Nigeria, Mali, Senegal, and South Sudan—have officially secured their spots in the upcoming 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup Qualifying Tournaments. The tournaments are scheduled for March 2026. These four teams will represent Africa among 24 national teams competing for berths in the expanded World Cup in Germany.
Tournament Background: 2025 Women’s AfroBasket
The tournament was held from July 25 to August 3, 2025, in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire. The tournament not only crowned Africa’s top team but also served as the primary pathway to the World Cup Qualifying stage.
Pathway to AfroBasket
Different African teams competed in qualifiers across African zones between August 2024 and early 2025 to qualify for the tournament. Teams that didn’t win direct tickets to the tournament were granted wild cards, which included Egypt, Mozambique, and South Sudan.
How Teams Qualified
Nigeria continued holding onto the title to win its fifth championship on the continent, a feat no other team has achieved. The D’Tigress maintained their dominance in African women’s basketball.
Mali finished in second place after losing to Nigeria in the final game. They qualified after advancing through the quarterfinals, having beaten Mozambique 86-68.
Senegal secured its spot in the World Cup Qualifiers via a resilient group-stage performance and a quarterfinal victory against the host country, Côte d’Ivoire, to reach the semifinals.
And finally, the wonder of the tournament, South Sudan, in its debut and infancy at the tournament, edged Uganda in a tight 69–68 match to seal their qualification.
Road to Germany 2026
March 2026: All 24 teams will compete in qualifying tournaments spanning four events, including the African four, along with European, American, and Asia/Oceania nations. Of these qualifiers, 16 national teams will secure spots at the 2026 Women’s World Cup in Germany.
Only three teams have sealed their qualification to the World Cup, which are the host nation, Germany, Belgium and the United States of America.
The World Cup expansion provides a second chance for AfroBasket teams to qualify for the World Cup.
