Watching D’Tigress at the Olympics

The experience of Nigeria’s women’s basketball team at the 2024 Summer Olympics brings to the fore important questions about the state of women’s team sports in Nigeria and the wider continent, and the challenges and priorities in nurturing regional talent. 

There was a moment in the third quarter when Nigeria was leading by 16 points, but at the Pierre Mauroy Stadium in Lille, it didn’t seem like the audience really knew what they were looking at. Lille is close to the Belgian border, and thousands of Belgians were over for the previous game—a tie between Belgium and Japan that had ended in crushing defeat for Japan in a deficit of 30 points. Even though tickets for the two games were bundled together, by the time Nigeria and Canada took to the court for their match up, much of the crowd had dissipated, and many of those who remained looked on, somewhat detached, as the Nigerian women’s basketball team did something that had never been done before. Minute by minute and point by point, the team chipped away at the Canadian defence while keeping their own firm so that by the time the final buzzer rang, Nigeria’s women’s basketball team had become the first African team to make it to the quarterfinals of Olympic basketball.  

Coach Rena Wakama’s inscrutable silence was a constant throughout Nigeria’s unprecedented run. It wasn’t long before fans noticed her at the sidelines of every game, impeccably styled with braids flowing around her immaculately made-up face like a halo. Her gaze upon the action remained intense and constant even though the placid exterior was routinely interrupted when she shouted instructions to the players on the court. Unlike most other coaches who showed up in sweats and sneakers, Wakama preferred to sport a blazer and slacks, exuding a confidence and professionalism that echoed the solidity of the team she was overseeing. It was this focus that led the Nigerian team—who go by the name D’Tigress—from being the lowest ranked team at the tournament at the start to leapfrogging four places and earning a quarterfinal showdown with the number one ranked team, the United States...