FIBA, the world’s governing body for basketball, banned Russian and Belarusian men’s and women’s teams from World Cup competitions in 2022 and ’23 in response to the ongoing war in Ukraine, the federation announced Wednesday.
FIBA’s executive committee made the decision to withdraw all Russian and Belarusian teams from international competitions through the end of 2022, which includes removing the men’s teams from the 2023 World Cup qualifiers. The Russian men’s team is currently ranked No. 15 in the world and was 3–0 in European qualifying play, with their last win coming over the Netherlands on Feb.