Nigeria’s highly successful female basketball national team coach, Rena Wakama has delivered a prayer that her efforts would inspire other women to face the challenge of handling major squads and as tacticians for their countries.
Sports247 reports that Wakama, who took over the Nigerian senior women’s national team’s duty in 2023, continues making waves with the side fondly called D’Tigress, and admits it has been a very historic tenure for her.
Read Also: WAFCON 2024 FALL-OUT: Super Falcons’ Victory Encourages Nigeria’s Unity, Says Justin Madugu
Wakama, who became the first woman to win any edition of AfroBasket when her team won the competition’s last race, and achieved a record equalling fourth straight title in the same year she took over the saddle of D’Tigress, again led them to the final this year in Cote d’Ivoire.
Incidentally, Wakama, who had a short stint with First Bank Ladies BC of Lagos during her playing days and starred for D’Tigress at AfroBasket 2015 in Cameroon, where they finished third, was voted as best coach at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, after becoming the first African gaffer, male or female, to lead a team into the quarter-finals.
Wakama, who is currently an assistant coach at Chicago Sky of USA, after serving in the same role with Manhattan College, Stony Brook and Tulane, confessed that she would love to see more women handling national team’s in Africa.
She retorted, “It breaks my heart, but I know it has changed with me. To be a woman and get an opportunity to coach in this game is good for other women.”
The 33-year-old tactician, who was born in Raleigh, USA and first played the game at Wake Forest High School, thanked Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) president, Engineer Musa Kids and other members of the governing body for trusting her with the task of handling D’Tigress.
Wakama, who also schooled at Manhattan College and Western Carolina University, noted: “I’m here, but there are a lot of other brilliant female coaches that also need an opportunity.
“So, I’m just thankful for the NBBF president in Nigeria for giving me the chance to lead this organisation and to do all my work.”
She concluded by stating a strong desire of seeing other women take after her, saying: “I hope I’m not going to be the last and I hope that I’ve been able to inspire others to take a great step to coach.”
