On Tuesday, FIBA announced that Russian teams and officials have been suspended from international basketball competitions -- including 3x3 -- until further notice. The decision was made in light of Russia's recent invasion of Ukraine.
FIBA remains very concerned by the recent events in Ukraine and expresses its deepest sympathies to the victims.
In line with the International Olympic Committee Executive Board resolution and its reasons, FIBA has announced today that Russian teams and officials will not be allowed to participate in FIBA Basketball and 3x3 Basketball competitions until further notice.
FIBA will communicate any further decisions taken by the Central Board at its meeting on March 25, as well as by FIBA's European Zone bodies in the next coming days.
FIBA strongly condemns violence and hopes peace will urgently prevail.
Russia's men's national team played as recently as Feb. 24 in a 2023 FIBA World Cup qualifying match against the Netherlands, winning 80-69. They are currently in first place in Group H of the European qualification region. The next game is not scheduled until July 1 against Italy.
As for Russia's women's national team, they have qualified for the 2022 FIBA Women's World Cup, which is set to take place in Australia between Sept. 22 and Oct. 1. The draw for that event is scheduled for March 3. It is unclear if the Russian women will still be included in that draw given the actual event is months away.
Other international sporting bodies such as the IOC and FIFA have also moved to ban and suspend Russian teams and athletes. The IOC ruled that Russia (and Belarus) have broken the Olympic Truce and urged sporting organizations to ban athletes from those countries from competing in international events. Likewise, FIFA has suspended Russian soccer teams from international competitions, including World Cup qualifying.
