FIBA U-18 Asia Cup 2026 will be held in Ahmedabad from August 13 to 23, FIBA Regional Office-Asia announced on Thursday.
This will be only the third time India hosts the biennial continental youth tournament.
The top four teams from the competition will qualify for the FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup, which will be held in Pardubice, Czechia, from June 26 to July 4, 2027.
Australia will enter the tournament as the defending champion after winning the title in Amman, Jordan, in 2024. It will be joined by fellow 2024 finalist New Zealand and 13 other teams, which will come through qualification events across FIBA Asia sub-zones.
The 16 teams will be divided into four groups of four for the round-robin group stage. The top three teams from each group will progress to the knockout phase.
The number of qualifying spots from each sub-zone will be decided through a combination of fixed slots and the performance of teams from that sub-zone in the 2024 edition.
The South Asian Basketball Association qualifier will be held in Colombo, Sri Lanka, from May 25 to 29, 2026, with one team qualifying. The East Asia Basketball Association qualifier will take place in Fukuoka, Japan, from June 2 to 7, with four teams advancing.
The Southeast Asian Basketball Association U18 Qualifiers will be played in Krabi, Thailand, from June 10 to 14, with two teams making it to the main tournament. The Gulf Basketball Association qualifier will be held in Doha, Qatar, from where three teams will qualify.
ALSO READ: Cricket bowls over baseball-mad Japan ahead of Asian Games 2026
India last hosted the tournament, then known as the FIBA Asia U18 Championship, in Bengaluru in 2004. Iran won all its eight matches that year and beat Korea in the final to claim its first continental title in any category.
Before that, India hosted the event in Kolkata in 1998, a tournament remembered for the international debut of Yao Ming. The Chinese centre led his team to the sixth of its record seven titles before becoming one of the most influential figures in Asian basketball.
Ahmedabad has emerged as a major sporting hub in India in recent years. The city is home to the Narendra Modi Stadium, the world’s largest cricket stadium with a capacity of 132,000, and is also set to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games. It is also part of India’s confirmed bid for the 2036 Olympics.
Published on May 13, 2026