The FIBA World Cup is a tournament for men's national basketball teams organized by the International Basketball Federation. The FIBA World Cup is held every four years.
32 countries participate in the FIBA World Cup. The number of teams that qualify for the FIBA World Cup has changed over the years. In the early years, only 12 teams competed in the tournament. The number of teams increased to 16 in 1970, and then to 24 in 1998. The current format of the FIBA World Cup, with 32 teams, was introduced in 2019.
The Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia were co-hosts, but Indonesia's host qualification slot was conditional. FIBA wanted Indonesia to be competitive by 2021, so they had to qualify for the 2022 FIBA Asia Cup. Indonesia qualified but lost to China in the playoff round, making it the first time a host nation has not qualified for the FIBA Basketball World Cup.
The Americas, Asia/Oceania, and Africa qualifiers featured 16 teams, while Europe had 32 teams. Division A teams were divided into four groups, with the top three advancing to the second round. In round two, teams were divided into six groups, with the best teams qualifying for the World Cup. No wild card selection was made, and the Olympic champions were not guaranteed a spot in the tournament.
The 32 teams that will participate in the FIBA World Cup 2023 were determined on Feb 27, 2023, after the conclusion of the sixth window of qualifiers.
Participating countries in FIBA World Cup
The 32 teams are divided into 8 groups of 4 teams each. The 32 teams include 12 teams from Europe, 8 teams from Asia and Oceania, 7 teams from America, and 5 from Africa. The Philippines and Japan, being host countries, got an early qualification. Below mentioned is the list of teams that qualified for the FIBA World Cup 2023:
Finland, France, Georgia(debut), Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia(debut), Lithuania, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovenia, and Spain are the 12 teams that qualified from Europe.
Australia, China, Iran, Japan (co-host), Jordan, Lebanon, New Zealand, and the Philippines (co-host) are the 8 teams that qualified from Asia and Oceania.
Brazil, Canada, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Puerto Rico, the United States, and Venezuela are the 7 teams that qualified from the Americas.
Angola, Cape Verde (debut), Egypt, Ivory Coast, and South Sudan (debut) are the teams that qualified from Africa.
The top two teams from each of the Americas, Europe, and Africa, as well as the top team from each of Asia and Oceania, will qualify alongside the tournament's host France for the 2024 Summer Olympics. Spain will be the defending champions after defeating Argentina in the 2019 championship game.
The World Cup draw was held by FIBA in Manila where the 32 teams who qualified for this year's tournament were notified what their preliminary schedule would be between August 25 and September 10. Eight groups of four teams are set up for 32 teams that will be participating in the FIBA World Cup. The best two teams in each group will advance to the round of 16. In the final, the two teams that win their quarterfinal match will face each other.
With 32 teams set to participate in the upcoming 2023 edition, it will be interesting to see how the tournament unfolds and which team will emerge victorious with the title of world champion.
FAQs
A. There are now 213 National Men's Teams within the framework of FIBA. These teams are affiliated with FIBA through their national Basketball Associations. FIBA members shall be entitled to take part in the World Cup of Basketball. Matches between these teams are recognized as official international matches.
A. Any player with legal nationality in the country they seek to represent is generally eligible to play for that country's national team, but FIBA provides specific provisions for players who have acquired their legal nationality, dual citizens, and players representing FIBA members who are dependencies of another country.
A. Indonesia advanced from the preliminary round-robin round but lost to China in the playoffs due to which they were unable to qualify.
A. Six Asian teams have qualified for FIBA World Cup 2023.
