ABIDJAN (Cote d’Ivoire) – Mali will be looking to maintain their supremacy and extend their stranglehold on the FIBA U18 Women's AfroBasket title, which will take place from August 5-16, 2026, in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.
Only two nations — Egypt and Senegal — have denied Mali a title in the last ten editions of the tournament, dating back to 2006.
Mali won the last two editions, in 2022 and 2024.
Egypt won in 2010 and 2020 on home soil, and Senegal won in Dakar in 2012.
Mali has never won the trophy at home in the last two decades.
Eleven other teams will seek to change the status quo in the 2026 edition, where Mali, the reigning champions, will be looking to avoid being dethroned.
In this article, FIBA.basketball breaks down the facts of the 2026 tournament.
Group Phase matchups
Group A comprises host Cote d’Ivoire, Central African Republic, Uganda and Kenya, while Group B has perennial champions Mali, Morocco, Egypt and Benin, and Group C is made up of Nigeria, Cameroon, Senegal and Tunisia.
Group A
Hosts Côte d'Ivoire are making their fourth appearance in the tournament since 2008, having missed the last five editions.
They will open their campaign against the Central African Republic, who are returning to the final round as automatic qualifiers from Zone 4.
The last time the Central African Republic reached this stage was in Tunisia in 2004, when they finished seventh.
Côte d'Ivoire hopes to start strong before facing the fourth-placed team from 2024, Uganda, on Saturday.
Uganda will be making its sixth appearance in the championship (2024, 2022, 2018, 2016, and 2008).
Côte d'Ivoire will finish with a game against one of the five runners-up, Kenya, on Monday, 11 August.
The Kenyans are no strangers to the competition. They made it to the final rounds in 2008, 2010, and 2012.
To prepare for the big test, Cote d'Ivoire played Cameroon in a tense game that ended with a score of 80-77.
Group B
The reigning champions, Mali, will have a tough time defending their title as they will battle Morocco, Egypt, and Benin in the group stage.
The most dominant team of the last twenty years will be hoping to win their eighth title, but they will have to contend with former champions Egypt, who have won twice.
Egypt has also won silver and bronze three and two times, respectively, and is eager to grasp the trophy once again.
This is their ninth consecutive appearance in the final round, where they won Group 5 without dropping a game.
The other two teams in the group are Benin and Morocco.
Benin placed fourth in the five-team 2006 event on home soil, eighth in 2008, and were Zone 3 champions.
Upon returning from Burkina Faso, where the qualifiers were held, the Benin women were treated to a hero’s welcome by a powerful delegation led by Benin Basketball Federation president Ismahini Onifade.
This will motivate the Benin women to make an impact. The MVP of the qualifiers, Tchiakpe Stivine, hopes to reproduce her standout performances from Burkina Faso.
Morocco, on the other hand, will be making their debut in the Final Round of the championship as runner up in Zone 1.
Group C
Nigeria is leading Group A. As two-time silver medalists, they are eager to win this time, especially since the team finished second at the 2024 finals in South Africa.
The Junior D’Tigress are eager to emulate the senior women’s team's success, but they will need to improve to do so.
They will compete against Cameroon, the 2024 bronze medalist; Senegal and Tunisia.
Cameroon had a warm-up game against Côte d'Ivoire and won, so they will take that confidence into the Group C games.
Tunisia won the Zone 1 qualifiers and are poised to challenge their opponents. The Tunisian women will open their campaign against Nigeria on Wednesday.
FIBA