Russian and Belarusian teams will not be allowed to compete in the 2023 World Cup until further notice. The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) announced this news, which is the latest setback for Russia, which is facing tremendous pressure as a result of its full-scale military takeover of Ukraine.
Russia and Belarus’ men’s national teams have been banned from European Basketball World Cup qualifiers and will not be replaced.
Teams from Russia and Belarus will be prohibited from participation in the women’s basketball World Cup, which begins in September in Sydney, or the men’s World Cup qualifiers for the 2023 Cup in Southeast Asia, as well as several 3×3 competitions, according to FIBA’s executive committee. FIBA announced that Puerto Rico will take place of the Russian women’s team for the tournament in Sydney.
Russia is also out of the FIBA U17 Women’s Basketball World Cup, which will be held in Hungary from July 9 to 17.
Serbia, who came second in Group B of last year’s FIBA U16 Women’s European Challenger and was the only second team in any group that did not qualify, will take their position.
Numerous sports organizations have issued bans on Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials, as well as relocating or cancelling competitions from the two nations.
The Russian Basketball Federation (RBF) said, “FIBA’s decision is primarily due to the impossibility of ensuring the safety of Russian teams during international competitions.
“At the same time, there is no complete disqualification, as it happened with the Russian national teams in many other sports.
“The leadership of the RBF expected, understands and is making this decision in connection with the current situation in the world and is in constant contact with FIBA representatives.”