The NSC has confirmed payment of the naira equivalent of $100,000 to each D’Tigress player and $50,000 to officials under Tinubu’s Presidential Reward.
The National Sports Commission (NSC) has confirmed the payment of the naira equivalent of $100,000 to each player of Nigeria’s senior women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, as part of the Presidential Reward for their victory at the 2025 FIBA Women’s Afrobasket.
The commission also confirmed the payment of the naira equivalent of $50,000 to each of the team’s officials.
The accounts of the players and officials were credited on September 9, 2026, with the NSC saying all recipients had confirmed receipt of the funds. D’Tigress won the FIBA Women’s Afrobasket title for a record fifth consecutive time and seventh overall in 2025, defending the crown in Côte d’Ivoire.
What the Full Reward Package Includes.
The commission said the payment completed all components of the rewards promised to members of the team by President Bola Tinubu. In a statement signed by its Director of Information and Public Relations, Kehinde Ajayi, on Wednesday, the NSC said the Presidential Rewards comprised three-bedroom flats in Abuja, national honours of the Order of the Niger, and the cash payments.
“With the payment, the entire presidential rewards promised to each member of the team by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR comprising a 3-Bedroom flat in Abuja, national honours of OON and Naira equivalent of $USD 100,000 to players and $USD 50,000 to officials have been fully redeemed and completed,” the statement said.
The commission recalled that the players and officials received the title documents for their three-bedroom apartments in Abuja and certificates of national honours in February 2026, during the FIBA World Cup qualifiers in Lyon, France. The NSC said the documents were duly signed by Tinubu. It added that the cash payment followed the team’s participation in the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Germany, where D’Tigress were eliminated in their opening match by South Korea.
Wednesday’s confirmation caps a payment process that had been moving through the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation for months. As recently as last week, NSC Chairman Shehu Dikko met with Minister of Finance Taiwo Oyedele to review the status of the outstanding cash rewards, with the ministry confirming at the time that payment for the Abuja flats had already been completed and that the cash component, the final stage, would be concluded shortly, with beneficiaries to receive alerts directly from the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Super Falcons Next in Line
The commission also disclosed that the Super Falcons, who were similarly promised Presidential Rewards for their 2024 Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (WAFCON) title win, had received title documents for their three-bedroom apartments in Abuja and certificates of national honours. It said the Falcons received the documents during the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco in July and August 2026, adding that the cash component of their reward was expected to be paid before their next official engagements.
The commission said the Super Falcons were promised the same cash rewards, the naira equivalent of $100,000 for each player and $50,000 for each official, mirroring the structure of the D’Tigress package.
Government’s Broader Push on Athlete Welfare
The commission said the rewards were part of the federal government’s effort to prioritise the welfare of Nigerian athletes.
“This unprecedented rewards to the players and athletes by the Federal Government of Nigeria is in alignment with the Renewed Hope initiative and Shared Prosperity agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR which places athletes’ welfare and appropriate rewards top on the priority list,” the statement said.
The commission thanked Tinubu for his support for Nigerian sports, saying his policies had given impetus to its reform agenda and efforts to develop a sustainable sports economy. It also appreciated the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, the Minister of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs, and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation for their collaboration in implementing the rewards.
The NSC said the collaboration ensured that the Presidential Rewards were implemented “in record time within the due process requirements.”
