Hosts announced for inaugural FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026 Pre-Qualifying Tournaments

MIES (Switzerland) - The FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026 Pre-Qualifying Tournaments will be held in Mexico and Rwanda between August 19 and 25, 2024.

Following a bidding process, the Mexican Basketball Federation (ADEMEBA) and the Rwanda Basketball Federation (FERWABA) have been granted the right to host the events, which will be held in the capitals of Mexico City and Kigali respectively.

Besides the 12 nations competing at the Women's Olympic Basketball Tournament Paris 2024, the next best 16 teams in the world (4 per region) will be in action with a first step on the Road to Berlin and, ultimately, the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026 in Germany.

The FIBA Central Board approved the expansion of the women's competition system following the conclusion of the previous World Cup, in line with FIBA's Women in Basketball strategic priority. The aim is to grant a larger number of National Federations meaningful and regular international competition.

The following nations will compete at the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026 Pre-Qualifying Tournaments:

Africa: Senegal, Mali, Rwanda, Mozambique
Americas: Brazil, Mexico, Venezuela, Argentina
Asia/Oceania: New Zealand, Korea, Philippines, Lebanon
Europe:  Hungary, Czechia, Montenegro, Great Britain

The 16 participating nations will be drawn into two tournaments, with eight teams going to Mexico City and eight teams to Kigali. Each tournament will be composed of group play (two groups of four teams) followed by Semi-Finals and a Final. Each Group will include four teams from four different continents. The top two teams from each Group will qualify for the Semi-Finals, while the winner of each tournament will qualify for the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026 Qualifying Tournaments taking place in March 2026.

The FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026 Qualifying Tournaments will involve 24 teams, with the winners of the Mexico and Rwanda Pre-Qualifying Tournaments and a further 22 teams determined by results in the FIBA Women's Continental Cups 2025.

A total of 16 nations, including hosts Germany, will punch their tickets through the Qualifying Tournaments in 2026 and compete at the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026, as part of an expanded field.

This expansion enhances inclusivity and competitiveness and creates more opportunities for the women's game, with 28 women's national teams taking part in global competitions this year and 32 teams in the World Cup year in 2026, in line with the men's World Cup field numbers.  

The draw for the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026 Pre-Qualifying Tournaments will take place on April 25 at 14:00 (CET) at the Patrick Baumann House of Basketball and will be live streamed on FIBA's YouTube channel.  

For more on the Women's Calendar and the Competition System click here.

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About FIBA

FIBA (fiba.basketball) - the world governing body for basketball - is an independent association formed by 212 National Basketball Federations throughout the world. It is recognized as the sole competent authority in basketball by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

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