ALGIERS (Algeria) -  Algeria's Under-18 women's team will make a return to the FIBA Africa Women's Championship following a four-year absence.

The North Africans head to host nation Madagascar (4 August - 15 August) as an unknown quantity.

Although, they have experienced this level of competition before. In 2014, they finished in a respectable fourth place and seventh in 2016.

But at best, the Algerians have the potential to be the tournament's dark horses.  

The Algerians won 4 of 7 games during the 2021 FIBA U16 Women's African Championship in Cairo to finish third.

The most obvious decision should be to try and build on that U16 team's third place achieved in the Egyptian capital.

Team: Algeria
FIBA Ranking: 50th  (World); 5th (Africa)
Last participation at FIBA U18 Women's African Championship: 2016 (7th place)
Best results at FIBA U18 Women's African Championship: Fourth place (2014)
How they qualified: Algeria secured their place in the Madagascar showpiece after FIBA Zone 1 teams Tunisia, Libya and Morocco pulled out of the regional qualifiers.

Head Coach: Mounir Meftahi is the head coach and former Algerian international player Chabi Yasmina serves as assistant coach.

Talking exclusively with FIBA.basketball, Meftahi revealed that his team has been in camp since June 18 with practice sessions held in two different cities Bejaïa in the East of the country and in the capital Algiers.

"We have selected 15 girls who are able to take up the challenge. We missed out the the 2022 U18 Women's African Championship in Egypt because of the Covid pandemic. The last edition in which Algeria participated was in 2016 in Egypt. We work hard to represent our country with dignity. The girls are aware of the task that awaits them."

Outlook: As things stand, Algeria have the advantage of being a closed book to their opponents. Another potential plus for the Algerian team is the possibility of continuity as some of the players from the U16 team that finished third FIBA Africa Championships in Egypt last year could elevate and join this year's team that will compete in Madagascar. 

There will be possible stumbling blocks as the Algerians could cross paths with strong teams like Angola, Egypt and Mali.

 FIBA