The Executive Committee of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) announced that one of the qualifying tournaments for the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup will be held in Istanbul.
According to a statement on FIBA’s website, the four host cities are Istanbul (Türkiye), Lyon-Villeurbanne (France), San Juan (Puerto Rico) and Wuhan (China). The tournaments, with six teams in each group, will run from 11 to 17 March 2026. Türkiye’s national team, which reached the EuroBasket quarter-finals this summer, has earned a place in this stage.
So far Germany (hosts), Australia, Belgium, Nigeria and the United States have qualified directly for the World Cup by winning their continental championships. However, these five teams will also play in the March qualifiers, where the remaining 11 World Cup places will be decided along with the other nations. Each team will play five games and must finish in the top three of its group to qualify.
In the group including hosts Germany, besides Germany and the continental champion, two more top teams will qualify. The 20th FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup begins on 4 September 2026 in Berlin, Germany. The draw for the qualifiers will be held on Tuesday 7 October at the Patrick Baumann House of Basketball in Switzerland.
