FIBA

FIBA, world governing body of basketball, founded in Geneva in 1932. Its membership includes more than 200 national basketball associations organized into the five regions of Africa, North and South America, Asia, Europe, and Oceania. FIBA sets official basketball rules and governs all international basketball competitions, including Olympic basketball and the FIBA Basketball World Cup and FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup.

History

Basketball was invented in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1891 by James Naismith, a physical education instructor at the International Young Men’s Christian Association Training School. The sport rapidly grew in popularity, and by 1900, athletes in the United States, Canada, France, England, Australia, China, India, and Japan were all playing basketball.

The proliferation of basketball internationally made necessary a governing body not limited to just one country. FIBA, originally called Fédération Internationale de Basketball Amateur, was formed two years after the International Olympic Committee officially made basketball eligible to become an Olympic sport in 1930. Though basketball was invented by a Canadian-American, Naismith, and first popularized in North America, FIBA’s founding member countries represented its growing reach: Argentina, Czechoslovakia, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Portugal, Romania, and Switzerland.

At the Berlin 1936 Olympic Games FIBA named Naismith its honorary president, though Naismith was not actually involved in the organization. That year men’s basketball was included in the Olympics for the first time. Women’s basketball was added to the Olympic schedule in 1976. FIBA allowed only amateur athletes to participate in international competitions until 1989, when the rule was changed to allow professional players. This resulted in the legendary Olympic gold-medal-winning run of the Dream Team—the U.S. men’s national team that included Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, and other stars of the NBA—at the Barcelona 1992 Olympic Games.

Rules

The FIBA rules for basketball differ in several ways from those of the NBA and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Compared with the NBA, for example, the court is slightly smaller, the three-point line is closer to the basket, quarters are 10 minutes instead of 12, teams have five timeouts instead of seven, and defensive players are allowed to stay in the restricted area (the rectangle in front of the basket, also known as the key) with no time limit, among other differences. In addition, referees generally allow a much more physical style of play and call fewer fouls. The overall result is that gameplay in FIBA competition is rougher, faster paced, and, with fewer interruptions from called fouls and timeouts, characterized by continuous action.

Tournaments

The first FIBA World Championship was held in 1950 in Buenos Aires. Ten teams participated, and the Argentinian team won the gold medal. The FIBA World Championship for Women debuted in 1953 in Santiago; the United States team took first place. The men’s tournament was first held under its current name, the FIBA Basketball World Cup, in 2014, and the women’s tournament has been known as the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup since the 2018 iteration of the event. Both the men’s and women’s tournaments are usually held every four years. In 2022, 12 women’s national teams participated in the World Cup, and, in 2023, 32 men’s national teams participated in the World Cup.

Apart from the international tournaments, each of the five FIBA regions sponsors leagues and holds a number of different tournaments for various age groups for teams within their regions. Among the most prominent of these tournaments are EuroBasket, the Asia Cup, AfroBasket, and the AmeriCup.

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FIBA has also helped encourage the growth of 3x3 basketball, a variation of traditional basketball that is played on a half-court and features three players on each side. FIBA began organizing tournaments of 3x3 basketball in 2007 and since 2012 has hosted 3x3 World Cup events for men and women. The sport made its Olympic debut at the 2020 Tokyo Games (held in 2021 because of the COVID-19 pandemic).

FIBA Basketball World Cup

The table provides a chronological list of winners of the FIBA Basketball World Cup.

FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup

The table provides a chronological list of winners of the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup.