The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ;

French French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band), ...

: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

worldwide. FIBA defines the

rules of basketball The rules of basketball are the rules and regulations that govern the play, officiating, equipment and procedures of basketball. While many of the basic rules are uniform throughout the world, variations do exist. Most leagues or governing bodie ...

, specifies the

equipment Equipment most commonly refers to a set of tool A tool is an Physical object, object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many Tool use by ...

and facilities required, organizes international competitions, regulates the transfer of

athlete An athlete is most commonly a person who competes in one or more sports involving physical strength, speed, power, or endurance. Sometimes, the word "athlete" is used to refer specifically to sport of athletics competitors, i.e. including track ...

s across countries, and controls the appointment of international

referees A referee is an official, in a variety of sports and competition, responsible for enforcing the rules of the sport, including sportsmanship decisions such as ejection. The official tasked with this job may be known by a variety of other titles ...

. A total of 212 national federations are members, organized since

1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...

into five zones:

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, and

Oceania Oceania ( , ) is a region, geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its co ...

. FIBA organizes both the men's and women's

FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament The FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament, abbreviated as FIBA World OQT, and formerly known as the FIBA Pre-Olympic Basketball Tournament, is the last qualifying tournament for the Olympic Basketball Tournament. The best non-champions from th ...

and the

Summer Olympics Basketball Tournament Basketball at the Summer Olympics has been a sport for men consistently since 1936. Prior to its inclusion as a medal sport, basketball was held as an unofficial demonstration event in 1904 and 1924. Women's basketball made its debut in the Summ ...

, which are sanctioned by the

IOC The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based in L ...

. The

FIBA Basketball World Cup The FIBA Basketball World Cup is an international basketball competition between the senior List of men's national basketball teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIBA, International Basketball Federation (FIBA), the sport's globa ...

is a world

tournament A tournament is a competition involving at least three competitors, all participating in a sport or game. More specifically, the term may be used in either of two overlapping senses: # One or more competitions held at a single venue and concen ...

for men's national teams held every four years. Teams compete for the

Naismith Trophy The Naismith Trophy is a trophy awarded to the men's champion of the FIBA Basketball World Cup, and is named in honor of basketball's inventor, James Naismith. The trophy was first awarded to the winner of the 1967 FIBA World Championship. The ...

, named in honor of basketball's

Canadian-American Canadian Americans () are Citizenship of the United States, American citizens or in some uses residents whose ancestry is wholly or partly Canadians, Canadian, or citizens of either country who hold dual citizenship. Today, many Canadian American ...

creator

James Naismith James Naismith (; November 6, 1861November 28, 1939) was a Scottish-Canadian-American physical educator, physician, Christian chaplain, and sports coach, best known as the inventor of the game of basketball. After moving to the United State ...

. The tournament structure is similar but not identical to that of the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

; these tournaments occurred in the same year from

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

through

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, but starting in

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, the Basketball World Cup moved to the year following the FIFA World Cup. A parallel event for women's teams, the

FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup The FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup, also known as the Basketball World Cup for Women or simply the FIBA Women's World Cup, is an international basketball tournament for women's national teams held quadrennially. It was created by the Internati ...

, is also held quadrennial; from

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. ** Spain and Portugal en ...

through 2014, it was held in the same year as the men's event but in a different country.

History

1932–49; founding and early years

The association was founded in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

in 1932, two years after the sport was officially recognized by the

. Before 1934,

was under the umbrella of the

International Amateur Handball Federation The International Amateur Handball Federation (IAHF) was the administrative and controlling body for handball and field handball. IAHF was responsible for the organisation of handball's major international tournaments, notably the World Men's Ha ...

. Its original name was . The eight nations' basketball federations that were the founding members of FIBA were:

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Latvia Latvia, officially the Republic of Latvia, is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is one of the three Baltic states, along with Estonia to the north and Lithuania to the south. It borders Russia to the east and Belarus to t ...

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, and

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

. In September 1934 the

Protocol of Stockholm The Protocol of Stockholm (also called Battle of Stockholm) was an agreement between the International Amateur Handball Federation (IAHF) and Fédération Internationale de Basketball (then FIBB, now FIBA), made in 1934 to transfer the oversight o ...

was passed and the FIBA became the only recognized authority responsible for basketball. During the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...

held in Berlin, the Federation named

(1861–1939), the founder of basketball, as its Honorary President.

Development (1950–2019)

FIBA has organized a world championship, known as

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the name is ...

, for men since 1950 and a women's world championship, known as the Women's World Cup, since 1953. From 1986 through 2014, both events were held every four years, alternating with the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competit ...

. The men's World Cup was moved to a new four-year cycle, with tournaments in the year before the Summer Olympics, after 2014. On 7 April 1989, at a special congress in

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

following the conclusion of the 1988–89 FIBA European Cup, FIBA member nations voted, by a margin of 56 to 13, to allow NBA players to participate in its international events, including the World Cup and the Olympics. The change also intended to ward off competition from the

Goodwill Games The Goodwill Games were an international sports competition created by Ted Turner in reaction to the political troubles surrounding the Olympic Games of the 1980s. In 1979, the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan caused the United States and other ...

, which was rivaling the Olympics at the time and also seeking to bring NBA players into its basketball events. The Federation headquarters moved to Munich in 1956, then returned to

in 2002. In 1991, it founded the

FIBA Hall of Fame The FIBA Hall of Fame, or FIBA Basketball Hall of Fame, honors players, coaches, teams, referees, and administrators who have greatly contributed to international competitive basketball. It was established by FIBA in 1991. Originally built in ...

; the first induction ceremony was held on 12 September 2007, during

EuroBasket 2007 The 2007 FIBA European Championship, commonly called FIBA EuroBasket 2007, was the 35th FIBA EuroBasket regional basketball championship held by FIBA Europe, which also served as Europe qualifier for the Basketball at the 2008 Summer Olympics – ...

. During its 81st anniversary in 2013, FIBA moved into its new headquarters, "The House of Basketball", at

Mies Mies may refer to: People * Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886–1969), German-American architect * Maria Mies (1931–2023), German feminist * Richard W. Mies (born 1944), U.S. Navy admiral and fourth commander in chief of the United States Strategic ...

Andreas Zagklis Andreas Zagklis (; born 1980) is a Greek lawyer and basketball executive, who is the current secretary general of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA). Early life and education Zagklis received his undergraduate and post-graduate de ...

became the Secretary-General of FIBA on 7 December 2018.

2020–present; suspensions of Russia and Belarus

In February 2022, Russia and Belarus were provisionally suspended from international competitions until further notice due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. It also suspended the two countries from hosting any competitions.

Presidents

During the

, the FIBA honored

James A. Naismith James Naismith (; November 6, 1861November 28, 1939) was a Scottish-Canadian-American physical educator, physician, Christian chaplain, and sports coach, best known as the inventor of the game of basketball. After moving to the United State ...

, the founder of basketball, as their honorary President.

Secretaries General

Structure

Background

Until the 1990s FIBA had various contintental sub-confederations under its jurisdiction. Those were as follows: *Africa (AFABA) *Asia (A.B.C.) *Confederación Panamericana de Baloncesto (COPABA) *South American Basketball Confederation (CONSUBASQUET) *Europe (Standing Conference for Europe) *Oceania (O.B.C.)

Five zones and 212 national federations

There are five zones, in which FIBA oversees the game in the different continents and regions of the world through its regional offices under its new governance structure, which was approved by the 2014 FIBA Extraordinary Congress in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. National federations are members of FIBA and are provided for in FIBA's General Statutes with their assigned zones. The Statutes also state that upon a national federation's admission into FIBA, it is assigned to a zone by the Central Board. *

FIBA Africa FIBA Africa is a zone within the FIBA basketball association which contains all 54 national African FIBA federations. It was founded in 1961. FIBA Africa maintains offices in Cairo and in Abidjan. Zones The 54 federations of FIBA Africa are g ...

(54 members) *

FIBA Americas FIBA Americas (, ) is a continental federation of FIBA (International Basketball Federation). It is one of FIBA's five continental zones. FIBA Americas is responsible for the organization and governance of the major international basketball comp ...

(42 members) *

FIBA Asia FIBA Asia is a zone within the FIBA, International Basketball Federation (FIBA) which contains Asian FIBA member associations. Sub-zones 44 member associations in 6 sub-zones: # Central Asia Basketball Association (CABA) – 5 member associati ...

(44 members) *

FIBA Europe FIBA Europe is the administrative body for basketball in Europe, within the FIBA, International Basketball Federation (FIBA), which includes all List of men's national basketball teams#FIBA Europe, 50 national European basketball federations. ...

(50 members) *

FIBA Oceania FIBA Oceania is a zone within FIBA (International Basketball Federation). It is one of FIBA's five continental confederations. FIBA Oceania is responsible for the organization and governance of the major international tournaments in Oceania. It ...

(22 members) FIBA recognizes 212 national federations; see the

list of men's national basketball teams This is a list of the men's national basketball teams in the world. There are more than 200 national basketball teams, the second sport with more national teams, with teams representing all UN member states except Liechtenstein, as well as several ...

and the list of women's national basketball teams. Unlike other sports organizations, FIBA recognizes the British Basketball Federation as the lone governing body for basketball in Great Britain, as a result of a merger in 2016 between the basketball federations of two of the four Home Nations within the United Kingdom (England and Scotland). Wales had rejected the proposed merger in 2012 but agreed in 2015. Several members of FIBA Oceania, notably Australia and New Zealand, also compete in Asian tournaments. In 2021, Peru was disaffiliated from FIBA after being suspended in 2018. The

FIBA Men's World Ranking The FIBA Men's World Ranking, are FIBA's rankings of national basketball teams. FIBA ranks both men's and women's national teams for both senior and junior competitions. It also publishes combined rankings for all mixed-sex competitions. Not inc ...

and

FIBA Women's World Ranking The FIBA Women's World Ranking is the FIBA's rankings of national women's basketball teams. FIBA ranks women's national teams in both senior and junior competitions. It also publishes combined rankings for all competitions involving both sexes. ...

are both updated after a FIBA competition or qualification window and are based on their performance, particularly in games, in those events. The men's ranking was updated on 10 September 2023 after the

2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup The 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup was the 19th tournament of the FIBA Basketball World Cup for men's national basketball teams, held from 25 August to 10 September 2023. The tournament was the second to feature 32 teams and was hosted by multipl ...

, while the latest women's ranking was updated on 21 August 2023 after the FIBA Women's Continental Cups, which took place in all FIBA zones.

Laws and governance

FIBA's headquarters is located in

Mies, Switzerland Mies () is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the district of Nyon (district), Nyon in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud in Switzerland. Mies is one of the communes of the Canton de Vaud which are collectively known as the ...

and is known as the Patrick Baumann House of Basketball, named after the organization's former Secretary-General. FIBA's supreme body is the FIBA Congress, an assembly of representatives from each affiliated national federation, with each having one vote. The Congress assembles every two years, either an elective or mid-term congress, and is the only body that can make modifications to FIBA's General Statutes. An elective congress elects the FIBA President, Treasurer, and members of the

FIBA Central Board The FIBA Central Board is an institution of FIBA (the governing body of basketball). It is the highest executive body of the organization, with the role of overseeing basketball globally. A majority of its members are elected by the FIBA Congress, ...

, and appoints members of their Ethics and Nominations Panels. Two extraordinary congresses have been held since 1989, with the most recent held in 2014. The FIBA Central Board is the organization's highest executive body. It comprises 29 people: the president; the secretary-general; the treasurer; 13 members elected by the FIBA Congress; the 5 presidents of each FIBA zone; up to six co-opted members; a representative each from the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

and the players. The Board is the body that decides which countries will host the

and the

. The Central Board for the term 2023-2027 comprises 27 members. The president and the secretary general are the main office holders of FIBA and are in charge of its daily administration. Sheikh Saud Ali Al Thani was elected president on 23 August 2023 at the FIBA Congress.

was appointed secretary-general on 8 December 2018 following the death of Patrick Baumann.

Competitions

National teams

Men *

* Olympic Basketball Tournament *

FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament The FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament, abbreviated as FIBA World OQT, and formerly known as the FIBA Pre-Olympic Basketball Tournament, is the last qualifying tournament for the Olympic Basketball Tournament. The best non-champions from th ...

* FIBA U-19 Basketball World Cup * FIBA U-17 Basketball World Cup (3x3 men) *

FIBA 3x3 World Cup The FIBA 3x3 World Cup is a 3x3 (basketball), 3x3 basketball tournament for national teams organized by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA). The debut of the tournament originally named as the FIBA 3x3 World Championship was held in Au ...

* Olympic 3x3 Basketball Tournament * FIBA 3x3 U-23 World Cup * FIBA 3x3 U-18 World Cup Women *

* Olympic Women's Basketball Tournament * FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournament * FIBA U-19 Women's Basketball World Cup * FIBA U-17 Women's Basketball World Cup (3x3 women) * FIBA 3x3 Women's World Cup * Olympic 3x3 Women's Basketball Tournament * FIBA 3x3 U-23 Women's World Cup * FIBA 3x3 U-18 Women's World Cup

Clubs

FIBA Intercontinental Cup The FIBA Intercontinental Cup, previously known to as the FIBA World Cup for Champion Clubs and the FIBA Club World Cup, is an annual international men's basketball competition organised by FIBA, the sport's global governing body. The competit ...

;Women - Esports * EFIBA Esport

Current title holders

World champions

3x3 world champions

World club champions

eFIBA Esport World Champions

Continental champions

Continental club champions

Awards

Most Valuable Player

World rankings

Men's

The following table has the Top 32 men's basketball countries in the world. The Top 32 is here due to the next iteration of the

, the world's major tournament in men's basketball, anticipating to have 32 countries compete. As such, this table shows the projected teams in the next FIBA Men's WC based on the ranking's algorithm. This list does not consider berths given to countries based on hosting or region status.

Women's

The following table has the Top 16 women's basketball countries in the world. The Top 16 is here due to the next iteration of the

, the world's major tournament in women's basketball, anticipating to have 16 countries compete. As such, this table shows the projected teams in the next FIBA Women's WC based on the ranking's algorithm. This list does not consider berths given to countries based on hosting or region status.

Sponsors of FIBA

FIBA Global Partners

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Molten Melting, or fusion, is a physical process that results in the phase transition of a substance from a solid to a liquid. This occurs when the internal energy of the solid increases, typically by the application of heat or pressure, which incre ...

Nike Nike often refers to: * Nike, Inc., a major American producer of athletic shoes, apparel, and sports equipment * Nike (mythology), a Greek goddess who personifies victory Nike may also refer to: People * Nike (name), a surname and feminine giv ...

Smart Communications Smart Communications Inc., commonly referred to as Smart, is a wholly owned wireless communications and digital services subsidiary of PLDT Inc., a telecommunications and digital services provider based in the Philippines. As of November ...

TCL Corporation TCL Technology Group Corp. (originally an abbreviation for Telecom Corporation Limited) is a Chinese partially state-owned electronics company headquartered in Huizhou, Guangdong province. TCL develops, manufactures, and sells consumer elect ...

Tencent Tencent Holdings Ltd. ( zh, s=腾讯, p=Téngxùn) is a Chinese Multinational corporation, multinational technology Conglomerate (company), conglomerate and holding company headquartered in Shenzhen. It is one of the highest grossing multimed ...

Tissot Tissot SA () is a Swiss luxury watch brand owned by the Swatch Group. The company was founded in Le Locle, Switzerland by Charles-Félicien Tissot and his son, Charles-Émile Tissot, in 1853. Tissot is not associated with Mathey-Tissot, anoth ...

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Yili Group Yili Group (; full name: Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Company Limited) is a Chinese dairy products producer headquartered in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia. It is one of China's leading dairy companies alongside Mengniu, and is listed as an ...

Other Partners

* Global Supplier:

Kuehne + Nagel Kuehne + Nagel International AG (or Kühne + Nagel) is a global transport and logistics company based in Schindellegi, Switzerland. Its main owner and operator is Klaus-Michael Kühne via his ''Kühne Holding'' and ''Kühne Foundation ...

Notes

References

External links

* * * * * * * {{Portal bar, Sports, Basketball Sports organizations established in 1932 Basketball governing bodies International sports organisations based in Switzerland 1932 establishments in Switzerland