Words by Cheyanne Bryan
Nigeria’s women’s basketball team is the only African team to make the Olympic quarterfinals.
After defeating Canada 79 - 70 on Sunday, the team will face off against Team USA in the upcoming matches on Wednesday. While the basketball tournament is far from over, Team Nigeria’s women’s basketball team, also known as the D'Tigress, has overcome many odds to make it this far.
The Nigerian women’s basketball team has faced many challenges to make it this far in the Paris Games, from not qualifying for the Rio de Janeiro Games to leaving Tokyo winless before making it to this year’s quarterfinals!
With years of struggle for adequate support from the Nigerian Basketball Federation, National Olympic Committees, and other governing bodies, the D'Tigress continue to strive and campaign for their rights and equal opportunities on and off the court.
The team’s perseverance must be admired as this year they continued to face hardships, most notably, being denied entry on their opening ceremony boat due to there being “too many on board”.
But now they have defeated the odds and made history as the first and only African basketball team (men or womens) to make it to the quarterfinals of the tournament.
At Smiley Movement, we like to elevate the work of charities across the world. Here are three charities whose causes align with the themes in this article.
Dream Sport Nigeria. This charity engages young people through sports programmes with educational content to empower them with development opportunities to be future leaders. Learn more here.
Hoffnung Sports Foundation.This charitable organisation is focused on making the world a better place by using sport as a growth catalyst. Learn more here.
Nigeria Unconquered. This charity uses the power of sports to inspire recovery, promote rehabilitation, and generate a greater awareness, understanding and respect for the Nigeria service people who have been wounded in battle. Support them here.
This article aligns with the UN SDG Partnerships For The Goals.
