Qatar to host 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup

Basketball’s world governing body has announced that Qatar will host the 2027 FIBA World Cup, the first time the event will be held in a Middle Eastern nation.

With Qatar having hosted the FIFA World Cup last year, FIBA official opted to take their flagship competition to the nation based on the compact geographical nature of the bid, with all games in the 32-team tournament to be played in capital city Doha.

The four venues include the 16,000-capacity Lusail Multipurpose Hall, Aspire Dome, Duhail Sports Hall and Ali Bin Hamad al-Attiyah Arena.

They also praised Qatar’s “unique flexibility” with tournament venue scheduling to better serve the fans, as well as an emphasis on sustainability.

In a statement released today, FIBA advised "Qatar's capital city, Doha, has direct flights from most of the potential participating countries, while the recently upgraded subway and public transportation network connects all venues, providing a top-class service for all visitors.

"Additionally, all venues to be used for FIBA's flagship men's event are already constructed, while widely used green technologies will help in delivering the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 as a carbon-neutral event."

Praising Qatar’s experience in hosting major events FIBA Secretary General, Andreas Zagklis noted that the tournament “will be delivered by a skilled and experienced team that has an excellent track record on a wide range of major international sporting events, including world championships or cups of more than a dozen other top Olympic sports.”

FIBA also advised that the German capital of Berlin will host the women's tournament in 2026, which will feature an expanded field of 16 teams.

Both hosting decisions were made in The Philippines capital of Manila on the eve of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 draw.

This year's FIBA tournament is being co-hosted by the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia and will run from 25th August to 10th September.

A further announcement concerning the 2023 event was the relocation of the Final Phase from the Philippine Arena to Mall of Asia Arena due to traffic concerns, although many reports suggest the former’s prohibition on the selling of alcohol also played a part in the decision.

FIBA said the Final Phase will be played in the 15,000-capacity Mall of Asia Arena and the two games of the Opening Round for the group of the Philippines will now be played in the vast 50,000-seat Philippine Arena.

Image credit Shutterstock.