Lagos to host FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying tournament

At the FIBA Central Board meeting, the five nations that will host the FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournaments this summer were confirmed.

40 nations that missed out on the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup have a chance to still compete at the Paris Olympic Games in 2024 thanks to the Pre-Qualifying Tournaments. 

A nation might participate in one of the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments the following year after winning a Pre-Qualifying Tournament, with the victors earning a spot in Paris.  

Here are the host allocation for each region for the FIBA Pre-Olympic qualifying process.

Africa - Group Phase and Final Phase: Lagos, Nigeria 

Americas - Group Phase and Final Phase: Argentina (city to be confirmed)

Europe - 1st tournament, Group Phase, and Final Phase: Istanbul, Turkey

2nd tournament: Poland and EstoniaGroup Phase: Gliwice (POL) and Tallinn (EST)Final Phase: Gliwice (POL)

Asia - The host of the tournament in Asia will be confirmed at a later date.  

This means Nigeria's senior basketball national team known as D'Tigers will play their games in Lagos.

D'Tigers failed to qualify for the 2023 FIBA World Cup as they were unable to play any games at home.

NBA Coach of the Year Mike Brown will be in charge of the D'Tigers and the top players from the country.

Stars such as Phoenix Suns guard Josh Okogie,  Sacramento Kings forward Chimezie Metu, Jordan Nwora of the Indiana Pacers and Toronto Raptors big man Precious Achiuwa will be available for selection.

The Draw Principles will be the same for Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Based on the FIBA World Ranking Men, presented by Nike, the participating teams were divided into four pots.

The teams from each pot will be divided into two groups by the draw, and each group will also be given a competition number. 

The best team will advance to the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments for the following season by crossing Groups A & B and Groups C & D.

The five FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournaments will take place between August 12 and August 20, 2023, and the five champions will receive invitations to the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments in July 2024.