Afrobasket 2025: Rwanda gears up for Nigeria test with warm-up games in Egypt
Rwanda’s women’s national basketball team has departed for Cairo, Egypt to engage in a series of friendly matches from July 12–14, as part of their final preparations for the 2025 FIBA Women’s Afrobasket Championship.
The team is gearing up for a high-stakes opener against defending champions Nigeria, scheduled for July 26 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
Led by Head Coach Cheikh Sarr, the Rwandan squad is focused on sharpening tactics and building chemistry ahead of their clash with D’Tigress, Africa’s most dominant women’s basketball team. Nigeria has won six Afrobasket titles, including an unprecedented four consecutive championships in 2017, 2019, 2021, and 2023, making them the team to beat2.
Despite traveling without star center Bella Murekatete, who is finalizing her move to France’s La Boulangère Wonderligue, the team remains optimistic. Murekatete is expected to join the squad in Egypt before the friendlies begin.
Following the Cairo camp, Rwanda will head to Abidjan on July 16, where they will compete in Group D alongside Nigeria and Mozambique. The group winners will advance directly to the quarter-finals, while second and third-placed teams will battle through a qualifying round.
Coach Sarr emphasized the importance of the Egypt friendlies:
‘Facing Nigeria in the opener demands our best. These matches in Cairo are vital for our readiness and confidence.’
