The Federation of International Basketball Association (FIBA) has threatened to apply sanctions against Nigeria following the decision by the federal government to withdraw from all international competitions for two years
In a letter dated 18th May 2022 and signed by Jaime Lamboy, Head of Legal Affairs of the world body, and addressed to Mr Ahmadu-Musa Kida and Mrs Afolabi-Oluwayemi Olabisi, President and Secretary-General respectively of Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), FIBA acknowledged receipt of an earlier letter dated 14th May where Nigeria through the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development informed the basketball governing body of its intention to “take a break from all international engagements for two years” and “enabling an Interim Management Committee to run the affairs of basketball in Nigeria”.
While reminding the Nigerian government that the country was scheduled to participate in (1) FIBA 2023 Basketball World Qualifier; and (2) FIBA 2022 Women Basketball World Cup, FIBA said withdrawing from the competitions will “trigger potential disciplinary sanctions as per the FIBA internal regulations”
“Furthermore, if the absence of Nigeria from international competitions for the next two years materialises, the consequences may spread out well past the two years. For example, please note that the withdrawal from the FBWC23 qualifier is also a withdrawal from the Paris 2024 Olympic qualifier process.
“Similarly, depending on third party results, the same situation could apply with respect to FIBA Afrobasket 2025.
“Accordingly, we request from the NBBF to immediately inform FIBA whether its participation in the aforementioned competitions is or not rectified”, the letter read in part.
It also reminded NBBF of its obligation to manage its affairs without interference from third parties in line with Article 9.6 of FIBA General Statutes.