- Cambage was blacklisted by the Opals for alleged racist remarks
- Recently signed a lucrative contract in China for megabucks
- Could make a return to international basketball with an unlikely country
Exiled Australian basketball player Liz Cambage has been given a lifeline to return to international basketball, but instead of the Opals, she will be joining the country whose stars she was accused of insulting in a racist outburst.
One of the biggest stars of Nigeria, the team at the centre of the racism scandal that saw Cambage blacklisted by the Australian Opals for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, has revealed she is willing to include the controversial midfielder in their squad in the future.
Cambage made global headlines in 2021 after allegedly inciting a physical confrontation and calling Nigerian players “monkeys”.
And now, amazingly, she is welcomed to the D’Tigress.
Nigerian basketball star Elizabeth Balogun has expressed her willingness to forgive Cambage and include him in her national team, despite the internal animosity that the incident has caused.
Cambage had reignited tensions more than a year ago by claiming that Nigerians wanted her to play for her father’s birth country. Star player Promise Amukamara denied the claim on social media.
Despite the controversy, Balogun now says she is open to the idea of Cambage joining the Nigerian squad.
‘If she [Liz] “If she wants to play, she is welcome in the family,” Balogun said.
“We only accept Nigerian women into the team, so she is absolutely welcome.”
Cambage posted a vision of her return to training on Instagram.
Cambage has been given the chance to represent Nigeria’s Paris Olympic quarter-finalists in the future, despite a racism scandal involving the country.
Cambage, second from left, has been banned from representing Australia by the Opals
Cambage, 32, is banned from the Australian national team but continues to play professional basketball. This year she completed a lucrative three-month stint with China’s Sichuan Yuanda women’s team in Chengdu.
However, Australian fans have neither forgotten nor forgiven Cambage for her alleged racist comments towards Nigerian opponents following the African nation’s surprise victory over the Opals at the Olympics.
“It’s sweet revenge that Nigeria beat Australia in the WBB,” someone tweeted.
“Good for them, especially after everything they’ve been through and the shit Liz Cambage did.”
Another wrote: ‘Remember when Liz Cambage played for Australia she called a Nigerian player a monkey?’
“This is beautiful karma/retaliation for the Liz Cambage incident,” read another tweet.
“I know Liz Cambage is pissed off somewhere,” was another tweet that added salt to the wounds.
The 32-year-old is back in training and looking for a new contract after a short stay in China
Nigeria and Australia both escaped the group stage of the Paris Olympics and could meet again in the battle for the gold medal if they make it that far.
Australia is still on the American side of the tournament, but will not play the Serbians, who are ranked tenth in the world, until the semi-finals.
The US has not lost an Olympic Games since 1992. They are currently on a winning streak of 58 games.
The Opals won four medals in a row, but missed the semi-finals in the last two editions, being defeated in the quarter-finals by the USA, ending a disappointing campaign in Tokyo.