Who's in - Great Britain Women
GENEVA (London 2012) - There was a collective sigh of relief from the south of England to northernmost Scotland in March of 2011 when news broke that the Great Britain women's basketball team would be able to play at the London Games. Host nations had always been allowed to have teams in the men's and women's tournaments, but a directive from ...
GENEVA (London 2012) - There was a collective sigh of relief from the south of England to northernmost Scotland in March of 2011 when news broke that the Great Britain women's basketball team would be able to play at the London Games.
Host nations had always been allowed to have teams in the men's and women's tournaments, but a directive from FIBA, when London was named as the host city for the 2012 Olympics, was for the British women to prove they could put a competitive team on the floor before having their participation in London approved.
Having played in the past as separate home nations of England, Scotland and Wales, a British team was formed and all went well at first.
In 2007, Britain won promotion to Division A by beating the Netherlands in a two-legged Division B Final.
In Division A, however, the Brits not only failed to qualify for EuroBasket 2009 but also suffered relegation.
They received special dispensation by FIBA Europe to remain in Division A, though, and with that second chance, the British fortunes changed dramatically.
Following the appointment of former Australia, New Zealand and China coach Tom Maher as the new national team boss, the British not only survived, but thrived.
In 2010, the Brits finished top of a Division A group above Slovakia, Ukraine and Germany to book a spot in the EuroBasket Women in Poland in 2011.
The FIBA Central Board met in Lyon, France, in March of 2011 and voted in favor of the British women playing as the host nation at the London Olympics.
FIBA