Minister of Sports Nelly Mukazayire has urged Rwanda’s men’s national basketball team to show discipline, determination, and national pride as they intensify preparations for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 qualifiers.
She made the remarks on Friday, June 26, 2026, during a visit to the team’s training camp in Kigali ahead of the second-round qualifiers scheduled to take place in Angola from July 2 to July 5, 2026.
Rwanda will compete in Group C against Nigeria, Guinea, and Tunisia in what is expected to be a highly competitive stage of the qualification campaign.
Mukazayire encouraged players and technical staff to remain focused on the task ahead, stressing the importance of representing the country with professionalism and unity.
Head coach Murenzi Yves has named a 16-player provisional squad, from which the final team will be selected for the decisive qualifiers.
The camp, however, has been marked by the withdrawal of Ntore Habimana and Axel Mpoyo, who opted out of national team duties. The Rwanda Basketball Federation (FERWABA) subsequently imposed sanctions, reiterating that selected players are expected to honour national team call-ups.
Rwanda enters the second round under pressure after losing all three of its opening-round matches, leaving it bottom of Group C. Guinea leads the group with six points, followed by Tunisia with five, and Nigeria with four.
Only the top three teams in each group will advance to the next phase of qualification, where 12 teams will compete for five African slots at the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Doha, Qatar.
A total of 80 national teams from Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Americas are competing across qualification zones, alongside host nation Qatar, in the global race for places at the tournament.
