FIBA eligibility rules

Last updated

As the governing body of basketball, FIBA is responsible for maintaining and implementing the rules that determine whether a basketball player is eligible to represent a particular country in officially recognized international competitions. Any player with legal nationality the country they seek to represent are generally eligible to play for that country's national team but FIBA provides specific provisions for players who have acquired their legal nationality, dual citizens, and players representing FIBA members which are dependencies of another country.

Contents

Eligibility

Eligibility rules imposed by FIBA on national team players applies to both men and women. A player who seeks to represent a country must hold legal nationality of that country. [1]

In 3x3 basketball, a player is eligible to represent their country if they have the appropriate legal nationality. The eligibility could be proven through a passport obtained at any age. [2]

The method by which a player obtains nationality is generally irrelevant to national team eligibility. The so-called grandparent rule is only used to determine a player's eligibility for a team representing a dependent territory of a sovereign nation, such as Puerto Rico or the US Virgin Islands. In those cases, the player must hold nationality of the applicable sovereign nation, called the "main territory" in FIBA regulations (the United States in both named cases), and must have been either: [1]

  1. born in the dependent territory;
  2. born in the main territory, with at least one parent having been born in the dependent territory;
  3. born to parents who were both born in the dependent territory (regardless of the player's birthplace); or
  4. have at least one grandparent born in the dependent territory (again, regardless of the player's birthplace).

Additionally, a player can gain eligibility for a dependent territory's team by gaining the nationality of the main territory, plus residing in the dependent territory for at least 4 years. [1]

A player who has competed in an official FIBA competition after reaching age 17 is tied to that country. Those who played for one country before turning 17 may play for a different country if both countries' federations agree, with the FIBA Secretary General deciding if the federations do not agree. FIBA has an exception that allows the Secretary General to authorize a nationality change to a player's "country of origin" (i.e., a country where the player has recent ancestral roots) if it is "in the interest of the development of basketball in the country". [1]

The application of this exception received criticism from ESPN journalist M.A. Voepel in 2021 after two American-born players of Nigerian origin, Nneka Ogwumike and Elizabeth Williams, were denied a waiver that would have allowed them to play for Nigeria in the Tokyo Olympics. While both had competed with the USA in previous competitions, with Ogwumike having won two World Cup gold medals with Team USA, neither had recent USA experience, and USA Basketball had released both to play for their ancestral home. In addition, Ogwumike's younger sisters Chiney and Erica, also US-born, were expected to play for Nigeria at those Olympics (in the end, only Erica was on the final Nigeria roster). In discussing the "development of basketball" exception to the standard eligibility rules, Voepel remarked, [3]

How about the development of basketball on an entire continent? FIBA Africa is the only one of FIBA's five confederations that has never won an Olympic medal in men's or women's basketball. Wouldn't the opportunity to have two former WNBA All-Stars and collegiate All-Americans play for the country where their parents were born -- and for which they have dual citizenship and have frequently visited -- make sense in terms of both Nigerian and African basketball development?

Naturalized players

Foreign-born players with bloodline connection with the country they want to represent must prove their legal nationality through a passport obtained before turning age 16, regardless of any local laws that deem that nationality as having existed before that time. [1] Players who obtained their passport afterwards can still play but they would be considered as "naturalized" players by FIBA rather than as a local. FIBA allows one naturalized player to be on the roster of a national team per game. [2]

Application in non-FIBA tournaments

In May 2018, the basketball federations in the Micronesia region decided to adopt FIBA eligibility rules for basketball players participating in the Micronesian Games. Previously the players in the games were subjected to seven-year residency requirement for non-Micronesians and a three-year residency term for islanders. The change generally restricts citizens of Federated States of Micronesia and Palau from playing for the Marshall Islands and would allow any United States passport holders to play for Guam and the Northern Marianas. [4]

The Olympic Council of Asia does not enforce FIBA eligibility rules when it comes to naturalized players and dual citizens in the Asian Games. However it requires players to reside in the country they seek to represent for at least three years. [5] The eligibility could be claimed by a passport of at least three years of validity. The OCA only allows one player with no bloodline to play for a national team in the Asian Games. [6]

Proposed reform

According to Al Panlilio, the president of the Philippines' national federation Samahang Basketbol ng Pilipinas, the dominance of Australia and New Zealand in the 2018 FIBA Asia Under-18 Championship gave way for possible reform on FIBA eligibility rules. Panlilio said that FIBA Asia might be concerned about maintaining balance in its competition while stated that the federation's position is that Filipino dual citizens should be allowed to play as locals regardless of when they were issued passports as long as their bloodline with their country could be proven. [6]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Korean Basketball League</span> South Korean professional mens basketball league

The Korean Basketball League is a professional men's basketball league in South Korea which was established in 1997. The league consists of ten teams and each team plays a total of 54 games in the regular season.

The grandfather rule, in sports which usually only permit participants to play for the team of their country of birth, is an exception which gives participants the option to play for the country of any of their ancestors up to the grandparents. Despite the common name for the rule, grandparents of either sex can be invoked equally and it is sometimes referred to as the grandparent rule or the granny rule.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reading Rockets</span> English semi-professional basketball club

The Reading Rockets are an English semi-professional basketball club based in the town of Reading, England. Founded in 1997, the Rockets compete in NBL Division 1, the second tier of the British basketball system.

A national sports team is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport.

The Nigeria women's national basketball team, also known as D'Tigeress, represents Nigeria in international women's basketball competition, and are regulated by the Nigeria Basketball Federation, the governing body for basketball in Nigeria. Nigeria has one of the most successful women's national teams on the African Continent, being the current African champions. They have won the Women's Afrobasket Championship consecutively for three times in a roll. They won in 2017 at Bamako, Mali, 2019 at Dakar, Senegal and in the year 2021 at Yaounder, Cameroun.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cameroon men's national basketball team</span>

The Cameroon national basketball team represents Cameroon in men's international competitions. It is administered by the Fédération Camerounaise de Basketball.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nneka Ogwumike</span> Basketball player

Nnemkadi Chinwe Victoria "Nneka" Ogwumike is a Nigerian-American basketball player for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), after being drafted No. 1 overall in the 2012 WNBA Draft. Soon after being drafted, Ogwumike signed an endorsement deal with Nike. She is the older sister of Chiney Ogwumike, who also plays for the Sparks. Ogwumike was named WNBA MVP for the 2016 WNBA season and won the WNBA Finals the same year She was named to The W25 the league's list of the top 25 players of its first 25 years, in 2021.

The nationality law of Bangladesh governs the issues of citizenship and nationality of the People's Republic of Bangladesh. The law regulates the nationality and citizenship status of all people who live in Bangladesh as well as all people who are of Bangladeshi descent. It allows the children of expatriates, foreigners as well as residents in Bangladesh to examine their citizenship status and if necessary, apply for and obtain citizenship of Bangladesh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bonus (basketball)</span> Situation in basketball

In the sport of basketball, the bonus situation occurs when one team accumulates a requisite number of fouls, the number of which varies depending on the level of play. When one team has committed the requisite number of fouls, each subsequent foul results in the opposing team's taking free throws regardless of the type of foul committed. Teams under the limit are commonly referred to as having fouls to give, and thus they can try to disrupt their opponents without being penalized free throws. These fouls reset every quarter or half depending on the rules in use.

As the governing body of association football, FIFA is responsible for maintaining and implementing the rules that determine whether an association football player is eligible to represent a particular country in officially recognised international competitions and friendly matches. In the 20th century, FIFA allowed a player to represent any national team, as long as the player held citizenship of that country. In 2004, in reaction to the growing trend towards naturalisation of foreign players in some countries, FIFA implemented a significant new ruling that requires a player to demonstrate a "clear connection" to any country they wish to represent. FIFA has used its authority to overturn results of competitive international matches that feature ineligible players.

During the 1992–93 English football season, Crystal Palace F.C. competed in the inaugural season of the FA Premier League.

Chinenye "Chiney" Ogwumike is a Nigerian-American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Sparks of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). In 2020, she became the first Black woman and the first WNBA player to host a national radio show for ESPN. She was one of the first and youngest commentators ever to be named an NBA analyst for the network covering the NBA, WNBA, and variety of sports, while simultaneously playing in the WNBA. Chiney is a graduate of Stanford University, where she majored in International relations. She played in three Final Fours and finished as the conference leader in scoring and rebounding as of January 3, 2014. As of 2016, Ogwumike was elected Vice-President of the WNBA Players Association, and signed an endorsement deal with Adidas. In May 2018, Ogwumike signed a multi-year contract with ESPN to become a full-time basketball analyst.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kangoeroes Basket Mechelen</span> Basketball team in Mechelen, Belgium

Kangoeroes Basket Mechelen, also known as Kangoeroes or Kangoeroes Mechelen, is a basketball club based in Mechelen, Belgium. Founded in 2009, the club plays in the BNXT League. Kangoeroes have been playing in the top tier division in Belgium for 10 years, since 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olympiacos B.C. B Development Team</span> Olympiacos BCs Development Team

Olympiacos B.C. B Development Team, also known as Olympiacos B.C. B Piraeus Bank for sponsorship reasons, is the reserve team of the Greek EuroLeague basketball club Olympiacos Piraeus. The club is located in Neo Faliro, Piraeus, which is about 7.4 kilometers from Athens, Greece. The club's full name is Olympiacos Piraeus Basketball Club B Development Team. The team currently plays in the Greek A2 Basket League, which is the second-tier level of professional club basketball in Greece.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nigeria at the 2020 Summer Olympics</span> Sporting event delegation

Nigeria competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled to take place from 24 July to 9 August 2020, the Games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the nation made its debut in 1952, Nigerian athletes have appeared in every edition of the Summer Olympic Games, with the exception of the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal because of the African boycott.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kwara Falcons</span> Basketball team in Kwara, Nigeria

Kwara Falcons is a Nigerian basketball team based in Ilorin, Kwara. The team plays in the Nigerian Premier League. Its best achievement has been the second place in 2018.

Erica Erinma Ogwumike is a Nigerian American basketball player. She played college basketball for the Rice Owls.

Joshua Eugene Richardson Munzon is a Filipino-American professional basketball player for the NorthPort Batang Pier of the Philippine Basketball Association (PBA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape Town Tigers</span> South African basketball club

Cape Town Tigers is a South African basketball club based in Cape Town. The team is located in the Gugulethu township. Established in 2019 by three American business partners, the club has won the South African national championship in 2021 and 2022.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Chapter 1: Eligibility, National Status and Availability of Players". FIBA Internal Regulations, Book 3 – Players and Officials (PDF). FIBA. 26 March 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
  2. 1 2 Henson, Joaquin (3 May 2018). "Panlilio explains 3x3 eligibility rule". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  3. ↑ Voepel, Mechelle (July 14, 2021). "Let Nneka Ogwumike play for Nigeria: FIBA's bad decision is bad for basketball". ESPN.com. Retrieved July 15, 2021.
  4. ↑ "Micronesian Games change basketball eligibility rules". Radio New Zealand. 21 May 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  5. ↑ Terrado, Reuben (26 July 2018). "Clarkson must clear major eligibility hurdle before joining Asiad team". Sports Interactive Network Philippines. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  6. 1 2 Henson, Joaquin (1 September 2018). "FIBA eligibility rule under review?". The Philippine Star. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.