2026 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup
International basketball competition
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The 2026 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup will be the 20th edition of the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for women's national basketball teams, sanctioned by FIBA. The tournament will be hosted in Berlin, Germany, from 4 to 13 September 2026.[1] This is Germany's second time hosting after previously organising the event in 1998, after being awarded the hosting rights in spring 2023.
| Basketball-Weltmeisterschaft der Frauen 2026 | |
|---|---|
#WeOwnTheGame! | |
| Tournament details | |
| Host country | Germany |
| City | Berlin |
| Dates | 4–13 September |
| Teams | 16 (from 4 confederations) |
| Venues | 2 (in 1 host city) |
Sixteen teams will take part in the tournament, four more than the previous edition but returning to the same number as was between 1990 and 2018. The Germans automatically qualify as hosts. Qualifiers will be decided via a mixture continental champions and teams progressing from the qualifying tournaments. Hungary and Italy return after long absences.
United States are the four-time defending champions, most recently beating China 83–61 in the 2022 final in Sydney.
Host selection
The following countries expressed interest in hosting:
Argentina (San Luis) – During the 2022 South American Basketball Championship, Horacio Muratore, president of the Argentine Basketball Confederation, explained that the federation is working really hard to win the hosting rights, with San Luis as the host city.[2] This would be have been Argentina's first time hosting.
Brazil (Rio de Janeiro) – After Rio de Janeiro carried out a study, they stated they want the Women's Basketball World Cup.[3] This would have been Brazil's fourth time hosting after 1971, 1983 and 2006.
Germany (Berlin) – After hosting EuroBasket 2022, German Basketball Federation president, Ingo Weiss stated he would like to consider hosting the 2026 Women's World Cup.[4] This would be their second organising after 1998.
During its Central Board meeting in Manila, Philippines, on 28 April 2023, FIBA announced that Germany will host the upcoming World Cup in 2026.[5] It will be second Women's World Cup to be held in the Germany after the 1998 tournament.
Qualified teams
Expansion
On 25 March 2022, following a review of the current FIBA women's basketball system, FIBA expanded the World Cup back to 16 teams after reducing the teams to 12 teams in 2022.[6] The expansion brings the numbers of teams that qualified back to the same count as the World Cups between 1990 and 2018.
Qualification
Germany as the hosts automatically qualified for the tournament in April 2023. Each winner of the continental championship will qualify. All other teams play in a qualifying tournament after finishing as the top teams during their regional tournament. A total of 24 teams played in those qualifying tournaments for the remaining eleven spots.[7]
Qualified teams
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Of the sixteen teams who qualified, nine took part in the previous edition. For the first time since 1990, no teams will debut at this edition. Of the seven returnees, Italy and Hungary come after long absences after last appearing in 1994 and 1998 respectively. Hosts Germany also return after their only appearance was hosting in 1998. Czech Republic makes an appearance after missing out on the previous two editions. Spain and Turkey progressed this time round after failing to advance in 2022, while Nigeria will take part after withdrawing in 2022.
Of the absentees, the most notable absentee is 2022 fourth place finishers Canada, who failed to qualify for the first time since 2002 after missing out on a three way tie in the Qualifying Tournaments. 2022 debutants, Bosnia and Herzegovina, alongside Serbia, couldn't qualify after their sporadic appearances in 2022.
After the Qualifying Tournaments, the regional team split is as follows: eight from Europe, four from Asia and Oceania and two from Africa and Americas. Europe's eight teams breaks their record of most European teams at a single World Cup (previously held by 1957 with seven); while on the other hand, Americas' two representatives (Puerto Rico and United States) marks the lowest number of teams at the World Cup from the region since 1967 (in which only 11 teams competed).
Mali qualified for a second successive edition for the first time, while Belgium and Puerto Rico continue their qualification streaks since their debuts in 2018. South Korea and the United States continue their longest active qualification streaks with 18 and 17 respectively.
The highest ranked team to not qualify was Canada, ranked 7th, while the lowest ranked team to qualify was Hungary, ranked 19th.
| Qualification | Host | Dates | Vacancies | Qualified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Host nation | N/A | 28 April 2023 | 1 |  Germany |
| Winner of EuroBasket Women 2025 |  Brno / Hamburg Piraeus /  Bologna | 18–29 June 2025 | 1 |  Belgium |
| Winner of 2025 Women's AmeriCup |  Santiago | 28 June – 6 July 2025 | 1 |  United States |
| Winner of 2025 Women's Asia Cup |  Shenzhen | 13–20 July 2025 | 1 |  Australia |
| Winner of 2025 Women's Afrobasket |  Abidjan | 26 July – 3 August 2025 | 1 |  Nigeria |
| Qualifying Tournaments | Wuhan | 11–17 March 2026 | 3 | China Mali Czech Republic |
 San Juan | 3 | Italy Spain Puerto Rico | ||
 Istanbul | 3 |  Hungary Turkey Japan | ||
 Lyon | 2 | France South Korea |
Summary of qualified teams
| Team | Qualification method | Date of qualification | Appearance(s) | Previous best performance[A] | WR[B] | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | First | Last | Streak | |||||
| Germany |
Host nation | 28 April 2023 | 2nd | 1998 | 1 | Eleventh place (1998) | 11 | |
| Belgium |
Winner of EuroBasket Women 2025 | 29 June 2025 | 3rd | 2018 | 2022 | 3 | Fourth place (2018) | 5 |
| United States |
Winner of 2025 Women's AmeriCup | 6 July 2025 | 19th | 1953 | 17 | Champions (Eleven times)[a] | 1 | |
| Australia |
Winner of 2025 Women's Asia Cup | 20 July 2025 | 17th | 1957 | 16 | Champions (2006) | 3 | |
| Nigeria |
Winner of 2025 Women's Afrobasket | 3 August 2025 | 3rd | 2006 | 2018 | 1 | Eighth place (2018) | 8 |
| France |
Qualified through Qualifying Tournaments | 14 March 2026 | 12th | 1953 | 2022 | 7 | Third place (1953) | 2 |
| Spain |
8th | 1994 | 2018 | 1 | Runners-up (2014) | 6 | ||
| China |
15 March 2026 | 12th | 1983 | 2022 | 12 | Runners-up (1994, 2022) | 4 | |
| South Korea |
18th | 1959 | 18 | Runners-up (1967, 1979) | 15 | |||
| Italy |
6th | 1967 | 1994 | 1 | Fourth place (1975) | 14 | ||
| Mali |
17 March 2026 | 3rd | 2010 | 2022 | 2 | Eleventh place (2022) | 18 | |
| Czech Republic |
4th | 2006 | 2014 | 1 | Runners-up (2010) | 17 | ||
| Turkey |
3rd | 2014 | 2018 | 1 | Fourth place (2014) | 16 | ||
| Japan |
10th | 1964 | 2022 | 5 | Runners-up (1975) | 10 | ||
| Hungary |
6th | 1957 | 1998 | 1 | Fifth place (1957) | 19 | ||
| Puerto Rico |
3rd | 2018 | 2022 | 3 | Eighth place (2022) | 13 | ||
Venues
The tournament will be played in Berlin across two venues.[8]
- The main venue is the Berlin Arena. This arena will host two groups and the entire knockout stage. The venue previously hosted the 2024 European Men's Handball Championship and the latter stages of EuroBasket 2022. It was the first venue to host three EuroLeague Final Fours. The venue has also held many high-profile non-sporting events.[9][10]
- The secondary arena in the Max-Schmeling-Halle. It will host two groups in the first round. The venue previously hosted the 2007 World Men's Handball Championship, plus the finals of the 2013 Women's European Volleyball Championship, 2023 IHF Men's U21 Handball World Championship, plus two CEV Champions League finals in 2015 and 2019.[11]
| Berlin | Berlin | |
|---|---|---|
| Berlin Arena | Max-Schmeling-Halle | |
| Capacity: 14,000 | Capacity: 9,000 | |
 |
 |
Preparations
- The senate (city-state government) in Berlin decided to allocate €6 million to the event.[12]
- On 13 March 2026, for the second edition in a row, Spanish basketball legend Pau Gasol was named the global ambassador for the tournament.[13]
Marketing
Logo
The logo was unveiled on 12 August 2024.[14] According to FIBA, the logo is supposed to depict "Berlin's status as a united metropolis that loves to party and celebrate".[15]
Mascot
The mascot, "Bearlina", was revealed during the HipHop Ball at Red Town Hall on 15 November 2025. Bearlina is a bear (which is featured on the coat of arms of Berlin), whose design represents the lifestyle of the host city, including elements of punk, hip hop, graffiti art, and the design of the basketball used for FIBA competitions.[16]
Draw
The draw took place on 21 April 2026 at 18:00 CET at the Kraftwerk in Berlin.[17][18][19] The draw was hosted by American actress, Brittney Elena, and German presenter, Matthias Killing. Australian basketball legend, Lauren Jackson, German handball player, Stefan Kretzschmar and breakdancer Jilou were the guests and assisted with the draw. The draw started with, in order, pots 1, 2, 3 and 4 being drawn, with each team selected then allocated into the first available group alphabetically. The position for the team within the group would then be drawn (for the purpose of the schedule). Before the draw, hosts Germany were pre-drawn into Group A. Regarding restrictions, a maximum of two teams from Europe are allowed in each group, while a maximum of one team from Africa, Americas and Asia/Oceania will be drawn in each group.
| 2026 FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup – Draw | |
 | |
 Draw Live Stream |
Seeding
The seeding was revealed on 16 April 2026.[20] The seeding was based on the FIBA Women's World Ranking as of 1 April 2026.
| Team | Pos |
|---|---|
| Germany (H) | 11 |
| United States | 1 |
| France | 2 |
| Australia | 3 |
| Team | Pos |
|---|---|
| Japan | 10 |
| Puerto Rico | 13 |
| Italy | 14 |
| South Korea | 15 |
| Team | Pos |
|---|---|
| Turkey | 16 |
| Czech Republic | 17 |
| Mali | 18 |
| Hungary | 19 |
Draw results
| Pos | Team |
|---|---|
| B1 | Hungary |
| B2 | South Korea |
| B3 | Nigeria |
| B4 | France |
| Pos | Team |
|---|---|
| C1 | Belgium |
| C2 | Australia |
| C3 | Puerto Rico |
| C4 | Turkey |
| Pos | Team |
|---|---|
| D1 | United States |
| D2 | Czech Republic |
| D3 | Italy |
| D4 | China |
Schedule
| Schedule[21] | ||
|---|---|---|
| Round | Gameday | Date |
| Preliminary round | Gameday 1 | 4 September 2026 |
| Gameday 2 | 5–6 September 2026 | |
| Gameday 3 | 7 September 2026 | |
| Final round | Qualification to quarterfinals | 8–9 September 2026 |
| Quarter-finals | 10 September 2026 | |
| Semi-finals | 12 September 2026 | |
| Third place Final |
13 September 2026 | |
Referees
The long list of 38 referees was announced on 2 April 2026.[22] The final list of 28 referees was revealed on 13 August 2026.[23]
James Griguol- Ruben Woolcock
- Alan dos Santos
Ventsislav Velikov
Waseem Husainy- Maripier Malo
Sun Jian
Martin Vulić
Carlos Peralta
Mihkel Männiste
Yohan Rosso
Orlando Varela
Takaki Kato
Gatis Saliņš
Yann Davidson
Martin Davison
Viola Györgyi
Julio Anaya
Paulina Gajdosz- Wojciech Liszka
Johnny Batista- Julirys Guzmán
Petar Pešić
Boris Krejić
Ariadna Chueca
Çisil Güngör
Aline García
Blanca Burns
Squads
Each team consists of twelve players.
Preliminary round
All times are local (UTC+2).[24]
Classification of teams
- Highest number of points earned, with each game result having a corresponding point:
- Win: 2 points
- Loss: 1 point
- Loss by default: 1 point, with a final score of 2–0 for the opponents of the defaulting team if the latter team is not trailing or if the score is tied, or the score at the time of stoppage if they are trailing.
- Loss by forfeit: 0 points, with a final score of 20–0 for the opponents of the forfeiting team.
- Head-to-head record via points system above
- Point difference in games among tied teams
- Points for in games among tied teams
- Point difference in all group games
- Points for in all group games
Group A
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Japan |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Quarterfinals |
| 2 | Spain |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Qualification to quarterfinals |
| 3 | Germany (H) |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | Mali |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head results; 3) Points difference; 4) Points scored.
(H) Hosts
| 4 September 2026 | |||||
| Japan | v | Mali | |||
| Spain | v | Germany | |||
| 5 September 2026 | |||||
| Mali | v | Spain | |||
| Germany | v | Japan | |||
| 7 September 2026 | |||||
| Japan | v | Spain | |||
| Germany | v | Mali | |||
Group B
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hungary |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Quarterfinals |
| 2 | South Korea |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Qualification to quarterfinals |
| 3 | Nigeria |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | France |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head results; 3) Points difference; 4) Points scored.
| 4 September 2026 | |||||
| South Korea | v | Nigeria | |||
| Hungary | v | France | |||
| 5 September 2026 | |||||
| Nigeria | v | Hungary | |||
| France | v | South Korea | |||
| 7 September 2026 | |||||
| Hungary | v | South Korea | |||
| Nigeria | v | France |
Group C
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Belgium |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Quarterfinals |
| 2 | Australia |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Qualification to quarterfinals |
| 3 | Puerto Rico |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | Turkey |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head results; 3) Points difference; 4) Points scored.
| 4 September 2026 | |||||
| Australia | v | Puerto Rico | |||
| Belgium | v | Turkey | |||
| 6 September 2026 | |||||
| Turkey | v | Australia | |||
| Puerto Rico | v | Belgium | |||
| 7 September 2026 | |||||
| Belgium | v | Australia | |||
| Puerto Rico | v | Turkey |
Group D
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | PF | PA | PD | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | United States |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Quarterfinals |
| 2 | Czech Republic |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Qualification to quarterfinals |
| 3 | Italy |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | China |
0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Head-to-head results; 3) Points difference; 4) Points scored.
| 4 September 2026 | |||||
| United States | v | China | |||
| Czech Republic | v | Italy | |||
| 6 September 2026 | |||||
| China | v | Czech Republic | |||
| Italy | v | United States | |||
| 7 September 2026 | |||||
| United States | v | Czech Republic | |||
| Italy | v | China |
Knockout stage
| Qualification round | Quarterfinals | Semifinals | Final | |||||||||||
| 10 September | ||||||||||||||
| A1 | ||||||||||||||
| 9 September | ||||||||||||||
| D3 | ||||||||||||||
| 12 September | ||||||||||||||
| C2 | ||||||||||||||
| 10 September | ||||||||||||||
| D1 | ||||||||||||||
| 8 September | ||||||||||||||
| B2 | ||||||||||||||
| 13 September | ||||||||||||||
| A3 | ||||||||||||||
| 10 September | ||||||||||||||
| B1 | ||||||||||||||
| 9 September | ||||||||||||||
| C3 | ||||||||||||||
| 12 September | ||||||||||||||
| D2 | ||||||||||||||
| Third place | ||||||||||||||
| 10 September | 13 September | |||||||||||||
| C1 | ||||||||||||||
| 8 September | ||||||||||||||
| A2 | ||||||||||||||
| B3 | ||||||||||||||
