Four and a half years after Russian and Belarusian basketball effectively disappeared from the international stage, FIBA has taken the first serious step toward their reintegration. Restrictions have been lifted for players, coaches, referees, commissioners and other officials from the two countries, who can now once again take part in FIBA basketball and 3×3 competitions.
National teams and clubs, however, remain suspended, and that is an important part of this decision. FIBA has not brought Russia back into international basketball, nor has it allowed its national teams to immediately return to qualifiers and major competitions, but it has indirectly taken a step in that direction by changing its approach toward individuals who had been subject to sanctions because of their citizenship following the start of the war in Ukraine.
December Will Bring the More Difficult Decision
The decision follows a shift in the policy of the International Olympic Committee. In May, the IOC lifted its recommended restrictions on Belarusian athletes and teams, while in July the suspension of the Russian Olympic Committee was temporarily lifted. FIBA then applied the same principle to its two Olympic disciplines.
The more complicated part still lies ahead. FIBA’s Central Board will reconsider the status of Russian and Belarusian national teams and clubs in December. Before then, talks are expected with the IOC, the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations and other team-sport governing bodies, primarily on participant safety, logistics and the anti-doping system. Particular attention will be given to a possible route back toward the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
International Sport Is Moving at Different Speeds
The issue is not only political, because the competition calendar is already in place. Qualification for the 2027 World Cup began without Russia and Belarus, so a potential return cannot be solved simply by putting their names back into the schedule. FIBA would have to find a model that does not disadvantage teams that have already earned their places through the existing system, while still giving Russian and Belarusian national teams a realistic path toward future major competitions. If such a solution is even possible.
Other sports are already dealing with similar questions. The International Volleyball Federation has drawn up a plan under which Russia would return to the Nations League in 2027, while World Aquatics has further eased restrictions on Russian and Belarusian athletes. World Athletics, on the other hand, continues to take a considerably stricter position. There is no single policy across international sport, but an increasing number of federations are moving toward the gradual removal of collective bans.
A National-Team Return Will Be Far More Sensitive
In basketball, the return of national teams will be far more sensitive than the return of individuals. Federations from the Nordic and Baltic countries, along with Poland, have already opposed the reintegration of Russian and Belarusian national teams, particularly in 3×3 basketball. That is why the December decision will involve much more than simply finding room in the calendar.
That is also why FIBA’s current move makes sense, because an athlete and a state are not the same thing. A professional basketball player, coach or referee does not decide the foreign policy of the country whose passport he holds, nor does he choose whether that country enters a military conflict. Most of these people spend years, sometimes decades, investing in the profession they make their living from, and a ban on competing directly affects their careers, their ability to earn and their presence on the international stage.
That does not mean ignoring what is happening between Russia and Ukraine or minimizing the consequences of the war. Many have been left without normal training conditions, clubs, arenas or the everyday lives they once knew. Their position must remain part of any serious discussion of this issue. But responsibility for decisions made by a state cannot be transferred indefinitely to every individual who happened to be born there.
FIBA Has Drawn a Reasonable Line for Now
For now, FIBA has chosen a reasonable solution. Individuals have once again been allowed to do the work they have spent practically their entire lives preparing for, while national teams, clubs and the issue of state representation remain subject to a much more complex decision.
The December meeting should show how far FIBA is prepared to go. For now, an important step has been taken. Basketball players, coaches and referees have regained the right to be part of international basketball without being automatically identified with the decisions of the state they come from. After more than four years of collective restrictions, it is difficult to view that move as anything other than a positive one.