The International Basketball Federation, FIBA, has announced that the Women’s Basketball World Cup 2026 Pre-Qualifying Tournaments will be held in Rwanda between August 19 and 25, 2024.
Following a bidding process, the Mexican Basketball Federation (ADEMEBA) and the Rwanda Basketball Federation (FERWABA) have been granted the right to host the events. They will take place in the capitals of Mexico City and Kigali respectively, as stated in the press release by FIBA.
The 16 participating nations will be drawn into two tournaments, with eight teams going to Mexico City and eight teams to Kigali.
Each tournament will consist of group play (two groups of four teams) followed by Semi-Finals and a Final.
Each group will include four teams from four different continents. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the Semi-Finals, while the winner of each tournament will qualify for the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2026 Qualifying Tournaments scheduled for March 2026.
Rwanda has experienced growth in the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Events (MICE) industry generating revenue of $95 million in 2023, a 48 percent increase from 2022, according to the Rwanda Convention Bureau.
This growth is attributed to the increase in infrastructure used to host tournaments and events.
2023 was a remarkable year for sports tourism in Rwanda, as the country hosted 27 sports events including the 73rd FIFA Congress, Basketball African League 2023, Afrobasket Women 2023, Giants of Africa, and other events that attracted 13,785 participants.
