Sports
D’Tigress suffer defeat in 2026 FIBA World Cup opener
One of Nigeria’s D’Tigress’ player in action at the World cup.
Nigeria’s D’Tigress opened their 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup campaign with an 81-99 defeat to South Korea in Berlin on Friday, fading late after staying within six points entering the final quarter.
South Korea led 26-22 after the opening quarter, before the African champions responded in the second period to remain close at 48-45 at halftime.
The Koreans maintained their three-point advantage in the third quarter, leading 68-62, but produced a decisive final period to seal an 18-point victory.
Jihyun Park led all scorers with 27 points, while Leeseul Kang proved particularly dangerous from long range, making six three-pointers as South Korea finished 11 of 28 from beyond the arc.
Nigeria, meanwhile, made six of 20 attempts from three-point range and committed 23 turnovers, more than twice South Korea’s 10.
D’Tigress captain Amy Okonkwo led Nigeria’s scoring with 20 points, while Murjanatu Musa contributed a game-high 13 rebounds.
Despite several periods of resistance, Nigeria could not sustain a comeback as South Korea capitalised on their mistakes and maintained control through disciplined ball movement and accurate shooting.
The result left coach Rena Wakama with areas to address ahead of Nigeria’s second Group B game, particularly their ball security and defence against perimeter shooters.
D’Tigress faced Hungary on Saturday as they fruitlessly sought to recover from the opening-day defeat and keep their World Cup campaign on track.
Nigeria qualified for the tournament after winning the 2025 Women’s Afrobasket and are drawn in Group B alongside France, South Korea and Hungary.
The 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup is being held in Berlin and runs until September 13.
D’Tigress reached the quarter-finals at the 2018 World Cup in Tenerife, Spain, and hoped to surpass that achievement this year.
Crystal Palace Women have signed Nigeria international goalkeeper Comfort Erhabor on a two-year contract.
The 21-year-old joins the English club after spending the 2025/26 season with Portsmouth, where she made six appearances in all competitions.
Erhabor began her career at the Brighton & Hove Albion Academy before gaining experience during loan spells with Hibernian and Plymouth Argyle.
Erhabor began her career at the Brighton & Hove Albion Academy before gaining experience during loan spells with Hibernian and Plymouth Argyle.
She joined Portsmouth in July 2025 and spent one season with the club before completing her move to Palace.
Born in the Netherlands and raised in England, Erhabor is eligible to represent Nigeria and has since established herself with the Super Falcons.
The goalkeeper made her Nigeria senior debut in February, starting in a friendly against Cameroon before being included in the squad for the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.
Crystal Palace manager Jo Potter welcomed the young goalkeeper to the club, describing her as a promising talent.
“Comfort is a promising young goalkeeper, and we are thrilled to have her here at Palace,” Potter said.
Erhabor said she was excited about the move and viewed it as an important step towards achieving her ambitions.
“It feels really good to be here. I’m very excited to get started,” she said
“I’m aspiring to play at the highest level, so this is a really big step in my career.”
Nigeria’s Super Eagles are set to begin a new kit era in 2027 after the Nigeria Football Federation agreed to a record-breaking partnership with German sportswear company Adidas.
Under the reported deal, Adidas will pay the NFF $4.5 million annually in cash, while also supplying equipment worth another $4 million each year for Nigeria’s national teams.
The cash component is estimated at about ?6.1 billion, while the equipment package is valued at approximately ?5.4 billion annually.
The agreement will also give the NFF 20 per cent of sales generated through Adidas stores, potentially providing the federation with an additional source of revenue.
The reported figures make the partnership the biggest kit-supply agreement involving an African football federation in terms of revenue. Nigeria’s annual cash payment is also said to be more than double Morocco’s reported figure.
The deal could provide some financial relief for the NFF, which has faced challenges surrounding the funding and administration of Nigeria’s national teams.
Beyond the Super Eagles, the equipment package is expected to benefit other national teams, including the Super Falcons and the country’s youth sides. The arrangement could reduce the federation’s cost of providing kits and other equipment for training camps, qualifiers and international tournaments.
The NFF could also benefit significantly from the 20 per cent merchandise-sales clause if Adidas succeeds in generating strong demand for Nigeria’s football shirts.
Nigeria has previously demonstrated the commercial appeal of its national-team kits, particularly during the 2018 FIFA World Cup, when the Super Eagles’ Nike shirt attracted widespread global attention.
A similar level of demand for Adidas merchandise could translate into substantial additional revenue for the federation throughout the partnership.
Super Eagles trio, Victor Osimhen, Kelechi Iheanacho and Ademola Lookman, were all on the scoresheet in wins for their respective clubs on Saturday, continuing their strong starts to the new season.
Osimhen continued his impressive form as Galatasaray edged Göztepe 3-2 in the Turkish Super Lig.
Göztepe stunned the champions by taking the lead in the 16th minute through Miroshi, before Davinson Sánchez restored parity for the hosts. Osimhen then set up Sara to hand Galatasaray a 2-1 lead, before calmly converting a penalty in the 63rd minute to make it 3-1 and take his season tally to five goals. Göztepe pulled one back late on, but Galatasaray held firm to move to the top of the league table after three matches.
In Spain, Lookman scored his first goal of the season for Atlético Madrid in a 3-1 win over Sevilla, getting on the scoresheet in the 33rd minute after Álex Baena had opened the scoring for the hosts.
In Turkey’s second division, Iheanacho scored and provided an assist for Bursaspor in their win over Kayserispor, taking his involvement to six goals in four games for the club this season.
The Nigerian forward has now scored in every match he has featured in this term, having also been on target against Karagümrük and Igdir FK, and provided an assist in the win over Bodrum FK.
