Eight teams advance to 2026 Nigerian women’s basketball league finals
Nigeria Customs, AS Sky Queens, Titans, Air Warriors, MFM, First Bank, Victoria Queens and Bayelsa Blue Whales will contest the 2026 Zenith Bank NBBF Women’s Basketball League finals in Lagos. Defending champions Dolphins are absent after failing to finish among the Atlantic Conference’s top four, leaving the title open.
The final eight teams for the 2026 Zenith Bank NBBF Women’s Basketball League have been confirmed, with the national finals scheduled for Lagos from September 28 to October 3. Nigeria Customs, AS Sky Queens, Titans, Air Warriors, MFM, First Bank, Victoria Queens and Bayelsa Blue Whales earned places after the Atlantic and Savannah Conference campaigns. They will meet at the Indoor Sports Hall of the National Stadium in Surulere.
The competition will have a new champion after Dolphins Basketball Club failed to qualify. Dolphins won last year’s final against First Bank but did not finish among the top four in the Atlantic Conference this season. First Bank, last year’s runners-up, enter the finals with nine league titles, the highest total in the competition’s history.
MFM will also bring recent championship experience, having won consecutive titles in 2023 and 2024. The final-eight stage will determine which of the qualified teams takes the trophy. The field combines established sides with teams that have emerged from the two conference campaigns, creating the prospect of a new chapter in the league’s title history.
Zenith Bank has sponsored the national women’s basketball league in partnership with the Nigeria Basketball Federation since 2005. The sponsorship has supported a domestic platform for female players to compete and develop. The league has also served as a pathway to Nigeria’s women’s national team, D’Tigress, with players from the domestic competition featuring prominently for the country.
It has additionally provided young athletes with opportunities to develop skills, discipline, teamwork and sporting careers. The bank said its support for the competition formed part of a wider community-development commitment. Other initiatives cited include infrastructure, youth and healthcare projects, although the finals themselves will be decided on court when the eight teams meet in Lagos.
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