FG pays D’Tigress players $100,000 each for Afrobasket triumph

The Federal Government has paid the naira equivalent of $100,000 to each player of Nigeria’s senior women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, as part of the Presidential Reward for their historic victory at the 2025 FIBA Women’s Afrobasket.

Team officials also received the naira equivalent of $50,000 each, according to the National Sports Commission.

The commission said the payments were made on September 9, 2026, adding that all players and officials had confirmed receipt of the funds.

The cash payment brings to completion the full package of rewards President Bola Ahmed Tinubu promised D’Tigress after they secured their fifth consecutive FIBA Women’s Afrobasket title and seventh overall championship in 2025.

In a statement signed by its Director of Information and Public Relations, Kehinde Ajayi, on Wednesday, the NSC said the reward package included three-bedroom apartments in Abuja, national honours and cash gifts.

“With the payment, the entire presidential rewards promised to each member of the team by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR comprising a 3-Bedroom flat in Abuja, national honours of OON and Naira equivalent of $USD 100,000 to players and $USD 50,000 to officials have been fully redeemed and completed,” the commission said.

The NSC recalled that the title documents for the apartments and certificates of national honours were presented to the players and officials in February 2026 during the FIBA World Cup qualifiers in Lyon, France.

It said the documents were duly signed by President Tinubu, while the cash component was subsequently processed following the team’s participation in the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Germany.

The commission said the reward programme was designed to recognise the achievements of Nigerian athletes and strengthen government support for sports development.

Meanwhile, the NSC disclosed that members of the Super Falcons, who were also promised presidential rewards, had received their apartment title documents and national honours.

According to the commission, the Falcons received the documents during the 2026 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco between July and August.

The footballers are also entitled to the same cash component as D’Tigress — $100,000 for each player and $50,000 for each official — with the commission saying the payments are expected to be made before their next official engagements.

The NSC described the rewards as part of the Federal Government’s broader commitment to improving athletes’ welfare and recognising sporting excellence.

It said the initiative was consistent with the Renewed Hope and Shared Prosperity agenda of the Tinubu administration, which it said placed athletes’ welfare and appropriate rewards among its priorities.

The commission also commended the President for his support for Nigerian sports, saying his policies had strengthened its reform efforts and the development of a sustainable sports economy.

It further acknowledged the contributions of the Ministers of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Federal Capital Territory, Housing and Urban Development, Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs, as well as the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, towards implementing the reward package.

The NSC said the collaboration enabled the government to fulfil the promises to the athletes “in record time within the due process requirements.”