ABIDJAN (Cote d'Ivoire) - Every edition of the FIBA U18 Women's AfroBasket has been a launching pad for some incredible careers for African basketballers.
We look into some of these incredible athletes as we prepare for the upcoming continental showpiece in South Africa in September
MAIMOUNA HAIDARA (Mali)
This 20-year-old was thrown into the limelight as a teenager when she dominated the U16 women's AfroBasket in 2019. The feat saw her land a move to Spain where she plies her trade for Celta Vigo in the Spanish LF Endesa.
Even before being named MVP in the 2022 U18 showpiece, she had already featured in the U19 World Cups in 2021 as Mali finished fourth and was back on that stage in 2023, leading Mali to fifth.
Still in her teens, Haidara was bumped up to the senior team in 2021 for the Women's AfroBasket and was part of the 2023 squad as well. In between, she made her debut at the FIBA World Cup with the senior team in 2022.
A bright international future still beckons for her, with Mali set to participate in one of the legs of the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup Pre-Qualifying Tournaments. Mali are part of the 16-team tournament and will head to Mexico in August (19-25) to face South Korea, the Czech Republic and Venezuela in Group A.
YARA HUSSEIN - (Egypt)
The then 18-year-old was solid for Egypt in 2020, delivering the title for the hosts against reigning champions Mali while scooping the MVP Award to crown a spectacular show.
Before the U18 Championship in 2020, Hussein had features in the 2017 U16 AfroBasket. She made the 2021 squad to the U19 Women’s World Cup, where they finished 12th as the then African silver medalists, Mali, made history with a semis berth.
She transitioned to the senior team in 2023, featuring in the FIBA Women's AfroBasket Qualifiers, playing five matches to average 2.2 points per game and 4.8 rebounds per game.
She has played for Al Ahly SC and Zamalek in the Egyptian League.
ASSETOU SISSOKO (Mali)
She was a points machine for Mali in Maputo back in 2018, being named MVP and has continued to impress since.
In 2019, Sissoko won the 3x3 event of the African Youth Games.
The shooting guard has played for SOA in the Ivorian National 1D league and Stade Malien back home. She is part of the national team selected for the pre-qualifying tournament for the 2026 Women's Basketball World Cup.
MERAL ABDELGAWAD (Egypt)
The Al Ahly SC point guard has scaled through the youth ranks in the Egyptian national team to become a key player for the senior side.
During the U18 Women's AfroBasket 2016, she participated in 6 games, averaging 14 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.8 assists, and an efficiency rating of 8.3 to be named MVP. The following year she featured in the FIBA U19 Women's Basketball World Cup.
Overall, her total averages for the national team youth level are 15.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and an efficiency rating of 10.6.
She made her senior debut in the 2019 FIBA Women's AfroBasket qualifiers, participating in 5 games, averaging 9 points, 4 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and an efficiency rating of 10.4 and has been a mainstay since.
DJENEBA N'DIAYE (Mali)
The Caledonia Gladiators guard had a stellar junior career that has propelled her to the British WBBL.
She played in the FIBA U17 Women's Basketball World Cup 2012, was part of the triumphant U16 Women's AfroBasket 2013 squad and went on to be named MVP in the U18 AfroBasket, the same year she represented her country in the U17 Women's Basketball World Cup. She was on the global stage again for the U19 global showpiece in 2015.
She made her senior team debut in 2015 and went on to play in every AfroBasket since but for the 2017 edition. N'Diaye has represented Mali in the 2019 FIBA Women's Olympic Pre-Qualifying African tournament, World Cup qualifier in Serbia and the tournament proper in 2022.
She is part of the national team selected for the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026 Pre-Qualifying Tournament.
YACINE DIOP (Senegal)
Now a mental health champion after going through a tough patch while still in college, the 2012 U18 Women's AfroBasket MVP (on her national team debut), thrust her into the limelight in African basketball.
Diop left Senegal as a teenager, at 16 in 2011, for a shot at high school basketball in the US. She played her basketball at Oak Hill Academy as a sophomore before joining Seton-LaSalle for her junior and senior years.
She later joined Pittsburgh University, where the 28-year-old played for four years, graduating in May 2018 with a degree in Rhetoric and Communications. She then joined Louisville Cardinals for two years, graduating in 2020.
She made her senior debut in 2018 during the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup, having missed out on the Rio Olympics team despite making the initial call-up.
Diop debuted in the Women’s AfroBasket in 2019, with the Lionesses going all the way to the final but being denied a gold medal by arch-rivals Nigeria in the final.
The story would repeat itself in 2021 and 2023, the two nations clashing in the semis in 2021 as Senegal finished fourth.
Late last year, Diop chose to take her talents back to Africa to play for Alexandria Sporting Club (ASC) of Egypt in the inaugural Africa Women’s Basketball League (AWBL) and helped propel the side to the title
Former U18 Women's AfroBasket MVP Award winners: 2006- Fanta Toure 2008- Laoudy Gentle 2010- Reem Osama 2012- Yacine Diop 2014- Djeneba N'Diaye 2016- Meral Abdelgawad 2018- Assetou Sissoko 2020- Yara Hussein 2022- Maimouna Haidara FIBA