Zenith Bank–NBBF Women’s League Final 8 tips off in Lagos
MFM and Nigeria Customs, the only teams to finish the Atlantic and Savannah Conferences unbeaten, headline the Final 8 of the 2026 Zenith Bank–NBBF Women’s Basketball League, which tips off today at the Indoor Sports Hall of the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.
Eight teams will compete for the national title until October 3: Nigeria Customs, Aso Sky Queens, Titans, Air Warriors, MFM, First Bank, Victoria Queens and Bayelsa Blue Whales.
MFM won all their Phase 1 and Phase 2 games in the Atlantic Conference, while Customs did the same in the Savannah Conference.
Defending champions Dolphins Basketball Club are absent after failing to finish in the Atlantic Conference’s top four, so a new champion will be crowned.
Games will be played at 10am, 12noon, 2pm and 4pm on the opening day. The group phase ends on October 1, with the semi-finals on October 2.MFM and Customs have been placed in separate groups. They can meet in the semi-finals only if one of them fails to top its group. If both win their groups, the earliest they can meet is the final.
MFM won the title in 2023 and 2024 and lost it to Dolphins last season. They are seeking to reclaim it. First Bank, last season’s finalists, hold a record nine league titles. Victoria Queens and Aso Sky Queens also impressed in the Atlantic and Savannah Conferences.
Zenith Bank has sponsored the league since 2005, in partnership with the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF). The competition serves as a feeder for the women’s national team, D’Tigress.
Zenith Bank Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer Adaora Umeoji urged all teams to play with fairness and sportsmanship. She also appealed to Lagos residents to turn out in large numbers to watch the best of women’s basketball in the country.
The league is an important pathway to the national women’s team, D’Tigress, with several players who have represented Nigeria emerging from the domestic competition. It also gives young athletes opportunities to develop their skills, discipline and teamwork, and pursue careers in the sport.
For Zenith Bank, the sponsorship is part of a broader commitment to community development and creating opportunities for young Nigerians. The bank points to initiatives including the reconstruction and beautification of Ajose Adeogun Street and Roundabout, the annual Zenith Bank Youth Parade and Light-Up Ceremony, ICT centres at tertiary institutions, and the Iga Iduganran Primary Healthcare Centre.
As the teams take the court in Lagos, the title is up for grabs—and the league’s long-running partnership with Zenith Bank remains central to the platform on which Nigeria’s women basketball players compete and develop.
