ABIDJAN (Côte d'Ivoire) - The Women's Basketball League Africa (WBLA) tournament continues to attract big names, with the qualifiers getting ever more competitive as teams battle to reach the 12-team Final Phase.
Ahead of this year's tournament, FIBA.basketball looks back at last year's events.
Number of participating teams
The 2025 qualifiers attracted 24 teams with 23 taking to the court to fight for 10 places that were to be filled.
Guinean team Black Mamba's participation in the Zone 2 qualifiers held in Praia, Cape Verde was declined due to factors affecting the eligibility of some players.
Host cities
- Zone 2 qualifiers were hosted at Pavilhão Desportivo Vavá Duarte Praia, Cape Verde, marking the first time the city hosted the women's competition. - Zone 3 hosted their qualifiers at Palais des Sports de Treichville Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire with four teams participating. - Zone 4's action was held at Gymnase Multisports de la Police Nationale in Kinshasa, DR Congo with two teams from Cameroon and two from the host nation doing battle. - Zone 5 saw Nyanyo National Stadium in Nairobi, Kenya play host to nine teams, the highest number of participants in all seven zones.
- Zone 6: DHPS Indoor Court in Windhoek, Namibia hosted the three teams fighting to join 2024 champions Ferroviário de Maputo in Egypt.
Teams that qualified for the 2026 WBLA via the qualifiers
ASC Ville de Dakar of Senegal booked the sole ticket to Egypt for the Final from Zone 2, beating hosts Kriol Star and Fireball to the slot. Nigeria’s First Bank dominated the four-team qualifiers in Abidjan for Zone 3 to qualify first, making a continental comeback after a six-year absence.
Host team Friends Basketball Association (FBA) secured the second qualifying spot. In Zone 4, Cameroon’s FAP and DR Congo’s CNSS- ranked 11th and 7th respectively in the 2024 edition - secured their places in the 2025 Final Phase in Kinshasa, DR Congo.
FAP remained undefeated in three matches, with the hosts finishing the tournament with a 2–1 record. In the Zone 5 qualifiers, Charles Mushumba-coached APR dominated with a star-studded squad, remaining unbeaten throughout the nine-team competition. They defeated the national champions, Rwanda Energy Group (REG), in the final, with both qualifying. Meanwhile, 2023 silver medallists, Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) beat Burundi's Les Hippos in the Zone 5 third-place play-off to secure the final spot. Sporting Clube de Luanda of Angola completed the list of participants, having secured their place in Cairo by finishing top of Zone 6 Group E.
The side made their debut alongside Malawi's Bravehearts, who placed second in the zone, as newcomers, beating hosts UNAM Phoenix.
Top individual performers in the qualifiers
Players left nothing to chance in the fight for a place in the Final Phase, and while it didn't always translate to victory, here are some top performers from the five zones that held their qualifiers. Taudencia Oluoch (Don Bosco Lioness) - Despite her side, Tanzania's Don Bosco Lionesses, missing out on qualification, she was the most efficient player of the qualifying phase with 22.7 rating in efficiency per game. The center averaged 15 points and 13 rebounds. Kamba Yoro Diakite (APR) - The Malian small forward was crucial for APR in their unbeaten run to the 2025 Final Phase. She averaged 17 points per game.
Her 24 points played a crucial role in her side's 81-71 upset of KPA to remain unbeaten. She was APR's most used player through the qualification and scored the highest number of points (102) throughout the zones. Marlène Ngobeleza (CNSS) - The Congolese guard headlined the points per game charts, alongside Don Bosco's Lavender Opondo at 19.3 in three matches. Her performance proved crucial in CNSS's return to the WBLA. Damaris Emédié (FAP) - The Cameroonian center averaged 15 points and 13.7 rebounds across three games, including 21 rebounds against CNSS to lead her side on an unbeaten run
Upsets
The 2025 Qualifiers saw dominant favorites mostly hold their ground, though some notable struggles were registered. In Zone 3, eventual winners First Bank of Nigeria opened their campaign with what was then considered a 66-55 shock win over Club Sportif d'Abidjan (CSA) of Côte d'Ivoire.
Meanwhile the host team, FBA, fell to a 63-56 defeat at the hands of Beninese champions, Energie, which dented their chances of defending the Zone title they won in Liberia in 2024. In Zone 5 KPA's semifinal loss to REG was considered somewhat an upset as the 2023 silver medalists had denied the Rwandese side a final spot at the WBLA 2023 edition hosted in Alexandria in their last meeting.
How did the WBLA Qualifiers teams do in the 2025 WBLA
The two automatic qualifiers for the 2025 WBLA, Ferroviario de Maputo, who came in as defending champions and Al Ahly Sporting Club, the Egyptian champions were the eventual finalists. Rwanda's APR were the top placed team at the Final Phase from the qualifiers defending their bronze medal from 2024 in a 90-84 victory over ASC Ville de Dakar.
Meanwhile, debutants Sporting Clube stunned with a 74-67 win over 2023 silver medalists KPA for fifth place. REG, CNSS, FAP and First Bank filled the top ten places with FBA, who had in 2024 placed fifth on debut, dropped to 11th while debutants Bravehearts left Cairo without a win in four games, a performance head coach Dominic Munyenyembe admitted was eye-opening.
FIBA