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By JOE APU
The FIBA Central Board has officially awarded hosting rights for two major global tournaments, confirming Japan as host of the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2030 and France as host of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2031.
The decisions were announced on Wednesday in Berlin following a comprehensive evaluation of both countries’ bids.
Japan’s capital, Tokyo, will stage the 2030 Women’s World Cup from November 26 to December 8. Meanwhile, France will host the 2031 men’s tournament across three major cities—Lille, Lyon and Paris—with the final phase scheduled to take place in Paris between August 29 and September 14.
Both nations bring proven pedigree in staging global sporting spectacles, having hosted the most recent editions of the Summer Olympic Games—Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Notably, Japan’s women’s team and France’s men’s team each secured silver medals at their respective home Olympics.
Reacting to the announcement, Andreas Zagklis подчеркed the importance of host selection in maintaining the success and global appeal of FIBA competitions.
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“The FIBA World Cups have become synonymous with success in large part because selecting the appropriate host each time is the cornerstone of our mission to make basketball the most popular sports community,” Zagklis said.
He added that both the Japanese Basketball Association and the French Basketball Federation met the federation’s high standards and have been entrusted with delivering world-class events.
Japan’s hosting of the 2030 Women’s World Cup will carry added significance, marking the 100th anniversary of the JBA. The country previously hosted the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2006 and co-hosted games during the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 in Okinawa.
For France, the 2031 edition will represent its first time hosting the men’s World Cup, although the country has a strong history of organizing major FIBA events. Recent highlights include FIBA EuroBasket 2015 in Lille, the FIBA Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournament 2020 in Bourges, and the FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2021 co-hosted in Strasbourg, as well as a qualifying tournament for the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2026 held in Lyon-Villeurbanne.
The dual announcement further underscores FIBA’s strategy of leveraging experienced hosts to enhance the global growth and appeal of basketball.
