BERLIN (Germany) – The first meeting of the FIBA Central Board in 2026 took place in the German capital, in conjunction with the Draw for the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026, and the FIBA Hall of Fame Class of 2026 induction ceremony.
The meeting proceedings commenced with an opening speech by European Olympic Committees President and IOC Executive Board member Spyros Capralos.
In addition to awarding the hosting rights for the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2030 and the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2031, the following topics were discussed:
FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026
The Central Board was presented with reports on the successful implementation of the four FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026 Qualifying Tournaments, that were hosted in Wuhan, China; Lyon-Villeurbanne, France; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and Istanbul, Türkiye.
A full update on the status of preparations for September's World Cup, including Tuesday's Draw, was provided. More than 80 percent of tickets for the final weekend of the tournament have already been sold.
Women's National Team Calendar 2027-2031
The Central Board approved the Women's National Team Calendar 2027-2031, following the recommendations of the Competitions Commission and a consultation round with FIBA Regional Offices.
In addition to the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2030 dates decided last year (November 26 to December 8, 2030), the newly approved calendar includes the following dates:
FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2030 Qualifying Tournaments: March 10-20, 2030
FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2030 Pre-Qualifying Tournaments: August 21-28, 2028
FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournaments: February 6 -16, 2028
Women's Olympic Basketball Tournament Los Angeles 2028: July 12-30, 2028
The Central Board also ratified scheduling the four FIBA Women's Continental Cups of 2029 in June-July of that year, and the FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2031 in December of that year.
FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027
Window 2 of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 Qualifiers wrapped up successfully in all Regions in March, while Window 3 games, set for June-July, will confirm all teams that will qualify for the second round.
The Central Board agreed to limit to two the number of warm-up games during Window 4 of the Qualifiers.
Concerning the current situation in the Middle East, the FIBA Central Board received a comprehensive report by the Organizing Committee of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027. With 16 months to go, preparations remain well on track and FIBA is confident that a safe, secure and very successful event can take place in Qatar next year.
Olympic Games 2028
The Central Board was presented with a status update on the ongoing preparations for the 2028 Olympic Games, in Los Angeles, following the visit of a FIBA delegation to the Intuit Dome and nearby facilities during the NBA All-Star Game last February.
FIBA U17 World Cups
The Central Board received a report on the preparations for the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup that will take place in Istanbul, Türkiye from June 27 to July 5, 2026, as well as the FIBA U17 Women's Basketball World Cup that is scheduled for July 11-19, 2026 in Brno, Czechia. Both events are part of FIBA’s innovative multi-year hosting model for youth events in cooperation with the Turkish and Czech national federations.
Official Basketball Rules changes
The Central Board approved the changes to the Official Basketball Rules proposed by the FIBA Rules Advisory Group, which comprises representatives of coaches, players, referees, and experts, including the following modifications:
Instant Replay: the addition of the possibility to review, at any time during a game, a goaltending or basket interference violation after a committed foul and during the last two minutes of a game, whether a throw-in foul is committed.
A more precise definition of continuous movement and the act of shooting, to address situations whereby a player tries to artificially enter into an act of shooting situation when fouled, either in transition or half-court offence.
Introducing two types of technical fouls, according to their nature and severity level, with one counting towards game disqualification and the other not.
Introducing the notion of Disruption and Flagrant fouls instead of Unsportsmanlike fouls.
Valid as of October 1, the detailed changes will be published in the coming weeks.
Club Competitions
Full updates were delivered on preparations for the upcoming Final Four tournament in Badalona, Spain that will crown the champion of the Basketball Champions League's 10th season.
The Central Board also reviewed the BCL Americas Final Four which came to a successful close on Sunday with Boca Juniors being proclaimed 2025-26 champions in Buenos Aires, and the launch of the Youth BCL Americas, as well as updates on the Road to BAL 2026, season 6 of the Basketball Africa League which is set to conclude in May, and the FIBA Asia competitions.
The Central Board also received an update on the progress regarding the launch of a new FIBA-ΝΒΑ League in Europe.
Finally, reports were delivered on the EuroLeague Women 2025-26 season which concluded on Sunday with Fenerbahce Opet lifting the trophy, and the EuroCup Women that came to a close weeks earlier with Mersin as champions, as well as reports on the 2025 seasons of the FIBA Women's Basketball League Africa and FIBA Women's Basketball League Asia, which continue to grow in line with FIBA's Women in Basketball strategy.
3x3
The Central Board was given updates on the 3x3 National Team competitions, highlighting the success of the 2026 Champions Cup in Bangkok and the upcoming FIBA 3x3 World Cup scheduled in Warsaw, Poland, from June 1-7. On the Professional Circuit side, a recap of the 2025 season of the World Tour and its Qualifiers which included events in 38 host cities in 22 territories, alongside a 15-event Women's Series. An outlook for the 2026 season, which will start in Utsunomiya on April 25-26, was provided during the meeting.
Empower National Federations
FIBA Plus projects were delivered in six countries (Uzbekistan, Jordan, Bhutan, Dominican Republic, New Zealand, Solomon Islands) during the first quarter of 2026. Meanwhile pilot projects for new courses named 'Start Coaching' and aimed at schoolteachers will launch in Bulgaria and India in late April, in collaboration with the International School Sport Federation.
Preparations have begun for the FIBA Plus Youth Athlete Development Camps (3x3), which was successfully launched last year. In 2026, the camps will take place in Americas (Caribbean - George Town, Cayman Islands), in Africa (Dakar, Senegal), in Oceania (Gold Coast, Australia) and in Central Asia.
The Board was also informed of the successful launch of the FIBA Academy Leaders Program, which got underway with 25 participants and has already held two on-site sessions, in Doha and Miami. The next on-site session is set to take place in Geneva in August, whilst online sessions are ongoing.
Gender Eligibility
Following the issuance of the IOC policy on the protection of the female category, the Central Board confirmed that FIBA will follow the IOC policy for Olympic Games and the Youth Olympic Games, awaiting further guidance from the IOC on the practical, legal, and operational aspects of implementation.
Regarding FIBA Competitions, in its December 2024 meeting the FIBA Central Board decided to extend the review process for adopting a formal transgender eligibility policy by two years.
During this period, FIBA is collecting basketball-specific data and transgender-related evidence to further evaluate the matter. A FIBA Gender Eligibility Committee, composed of medical and legal experts, is set to report back to the Central Board with recommendations at the start of 2027. Until then, FIBA is not entertaining any transgender eligibility requests.
Other Matters
Following the recommendation of the IOC to lift restrictions on the participation of the Russian and Belarusian athletes in youth competitions, Russia and Belarus have received an exceptional authorization to register U21 teams in conferences of the FIBA 3x3 Youth Nations League, to be played in China and Malaysia.
The Central Board approved the preservation of the current status of Russian and Belarusian teams for all other competitions, including the Youth EuroBaskets 2026, until the next Executive Committee meeting, scheduled for September 2026.
The Central Board received a status update on the inaugural FIBA Masters Open, to be held from July 4-12 in the Attica and Corinth region of Greece, in collaboration with the Hellenic Basketball Federation. The registration process is still open through the end of April. The registration process is open through the end of April.
The Central Board also approved the FIBA 2025 Consolidated Financial Statements.
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