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International Basketball Federation
Fédération Internationale de Basket-ball
FIBA logo.svg
Abbreviation FIBA
Motto "We are basketball"
Formation 18 June 1932
Type Sport federation
Region served Worldwide
Membership 213 national federations
Official language English, French, German, Russian, Spanish[1]
Secretary General
Patrick Baumann
President Horacio Muratore
Key people Borislav Stanković
George Vassilakopoulos
Manfred Ströher

The International Basketball Federation, more commonly known as FIBA, FIBA World, or FIBA International (/ˈfbə/ FEE-bə), from its French name Fédération Internationale de Basket-ball, is an association of national organizations which governs international competition in basketball. Originally known as the Fédération Internationale de Basket-ball Amateur (hence FIBA), in 1989 it dropped the word Amateur from its official name but retained the acronym; the "BA" now represents the first two letters of basketball.

FIBA defines the international rules of basketball, specifies the equipment and facilities required, regulates the transfer of athletes across countries, and controls the appointment of international referees. A total of 213 national federations are now members, organized since 1989 into five zones or "commissions": Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania.

The FIBA Basketball World Cup is a world tournament for men's national teams held every four years. Teams compete for the Naismith Trophy, named in honor of basketball's creator James Naismith. The tournament structure is similar but not identical to that of the FIFA World Cup in football; these tournaments occurred in the same year from 1970 through 2014, but starting in 2019, the Basketball World Cup will move to the year following the FIFA World Cup. A parallel event for women's teams, the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup, is also held quadrennially; from 1986 through 2014, it was held in the same year as the men's event but in a different country. The women's tournament will continue to be held in the same year as the FIFA World Cup.

In 2009 FIBA announced three new tournaments: two 12-team U-17 World Championships (one each for men and women) to be played in July 2010, and an eight-team FIBA World Club Championship to be launched in October 2010. However, the FIBA World Club Championship did not materialize. In its place, FIBA instead relaunched its original world club championship for men, the FIBA Intercontinental Cup, in 2013.

The newest worldwide FIBA tournaments for national teams are in the three-player half-court variation, 3x3. The FIBA 3x3 U-18 World Championships were inaugurated in 2011, and the FIBA 3x3 World Championships for senior teams followed a year later. All events include separate tournaments for men's, women's, and mixed teams. The U-18 championships, held annually, feature 32 teams in each individual tournament. The senior championships have 24 teams in each individual tournament, and are held in even-numbered years.


Old FIBA logo.
FIBA divides the world into 5 commissions, each roughly based on a continent.
FIBA in Mies.

The association was founded in Geneva in 1932, two years after the sport was officially recognized by the IOC. Its original name was Fédération Internationale de Basketball Amateur. Eight nations were founding members: Argentina, Czechoslovakia, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Portugal, Romania, and Switzerland. During the 1936 Summer Olympics held in Berlin, the Federation named James Naismith (1861–1939), the founder of basketball, as its Honorary President.

FIBA has organized a World Championship, now known as World Cup, for men since 1950 and a Women's World Championship, now known as the Women's World Cup, since 1953. From 1986 through 2014, both events were held every four years, alternating with the Olympics. As noted above, the men's World Cup will be moved to a new four-year cycle, with tournaments in the year before the Summer Olympics, after 2014.

In 1989, FIBA opened the door to Olympic participation by professionals such as players from the NBA in the United States. At this point, the Fédération Internationale de Basket-ball Amateur became the Fédération Internationale de Basket-ball, but retained FIBA as an abbreviation.

The Federation headquarters moved to Munich in 1956, then returned to Geneva in 2002. Patrick Baumann is the Secretary General of FIBA.

In 1991, it founded the FIBA Hall of Fame; the first induction ceremony was held on 12 September 2007 during EuroBasket 2007. During its 81st anniversary in 2013, FIBA moved into its new headquarters, "The House of Basketball", at Mies.


Secretaries General[edit]


Current champions:

National teams[edit]

Tournament Men Women Men's U-19 Women's U-19 Men's U-17 Women's U-17
FIBA World Cup  United States (2014)  United States (2014)  United States (2013)  United States (2013)  United States (2014)  United States (2014)
Olympics  United States (2012)  United States (2012) N/A
Commission Men Women Men's U-18 Women's U-18 Men's U-16 Women's U-16
FIBA Africa  Angola (2013)  Angola (2013)  Egypt (2014)  Mali (2014)  Angola (2013)  Mali (2013)
FIBA Americas  Mexico (2013)  Cuba (2013)  United States (2014)  United States (2014)  United States (2013)  United States (2013)
FIBA Asia  Iran (2013)  Japan (2013)  China (2014)  China (2014)  China (2013)  China (2013)
FIBA Europe  France (2013)  Spain (2013)  Turkey (2014)  Russia (2014)  France (2014)  Russia (2014)
FIBA Oceania  Australia (2013)  Australia (2013)  Australia (2014)  Australia (2014)  Australia (2013)  Australia (2013)
Commission Men's U-20 Women's U-20
FIBA Europe  Turkey (2014)  France (2014)
  • FIBA no longer holds Under-21 World Championships and Under-20 Zone Championships, except in Europe.[2]

National 3x3 teams[edit]

Tournament Men Women Mixed Men's U-18 Women's U-18 U-18 Mixed
FIBA World Championships Qatar Qatar (2014) United States USA (2014) France France (2012) Argentina Argentina (2013) United States USA (2013) France France (2012)


FIBA Tournament Men Women
FIBA Intercontinental Cup Brazil Flamengo (2014) N/A
FIBA Women's World League N/A Defunct
FIBA Americas League Brazil Flamengo (2014) N/A
FIBA Asia Champions Cup Iran Foolad Mahan Isfahan (2013) N/A
FIBA Africa Champions Cup Angola Recreativo do Libolo (2014) Angola Interclube (2014)
FIBA EuroChallenge Italy Grissin Bon Reggio Emilia (2014) N/A
FIBA European SuperCup N/A Russia UMMC Ekaterinburg (2013)
FIBA Latin Cup N/A N/A
Tournament Men Women
NBA/WNBA United States San Antonio Spurs (2014) United States Phoenix Mercury (2014)
Euroleague/EuroLeague Women Israel Maccabi Tel Aviv (2014) Turkey Galatasaray OdeaBank (2014)
Eurocup/EuroCup Women Spain Valencia BC (2014) Russia Dynamo Moscow (2014)
Liga Sudamericana de Básquetbol (LSB) Brazil Paschoalotto/Bauru (2014) N/A
Campeonato Sudamericano de Clubes Defunct Brazil Sport (2014)
NBL/WNBL (Australasia) Australia Perth Wildcats (2014) Australia Bendigo Spirit (2014)


  • The men's Euroleague is totally controlled by the Euroleague Basketball Company. Eurocup Basketball, known as the ULEB Cup until the 2008–09 season, is also run by the Euroleague Company. Both competitions, however, use FIBA's rule set, except that they use the jump ball. By contrast, both the EuroLeague Women and EuroCup Women, despite the similar names to the corresponding men's competitions, are completely controlled by FIBA Europe.
  • The Liga Sudamericana de Básquetbol (LSB) is operated by the South American Basketball Association (Asociación del Básquetbol Sudamericano - ABASU), an affiliate of FIBA Americas. The Campeonato Sudamericano de Clubes was operated by the South American Basketball Confederation (Confederación Sudamericana de Básquetbol - CONSUBASQUET) that was an affiliate of FIBA Americas. The South American Basketball Confederation, that was the oldest international basketball organization, older than FIBA itself, is now defunct and was superseded by the ABASU.
  • The NBL and WNBL are separate organisations based in Australia. Both leagues, which use FIBA rules, have teams throughout Australia plus the New Zealand Breakers, a men's professional basketball team based in Auckland, New Zealand.
  • The Philippine Basketball Association based in the Philippines, is the oldest professional basketball league in Asia and the second oldest in the world after the National Basketball Association of the United States. (Note that in this context, "oldest" refers to the date that the league operated as fully professional. For example, many European leagues predate the PBA—the European Champions Cup, which evolved into the Euroleague, has existed since 1958, but the leagues that sent teams to the Champions Cup were nominally amateur until at least the 1970s, if not later.)

FIBA World rankings[edit]

Further information: FIBA World Rankings


External links[edit]