Australia will host the 2022 women’s basketball World Cup after beating bid rivals Russia.
The tournament will be hosted at Sydney Olympic Park over a 10-day period in September and October.
The Opals will compete against 11 of the best teams from across FIBA’s regions – Asia and Oceania, Americas, Africa and Europe.
Australia won the world title in 2006 and took silver and bronze in the past two editions both won by the United States.
As the host nation, Australia will earn automatic entry into the 19th edition of the tournament, which will also mark the first time Australia has hosted a FIBA World Cup event since 1994.
“We are delighted that Sydney will host the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup and that Australian basketball fans will get the opportunity to see some of the world’s best players compete for one of the most prestigious titles in our sport,” Basketball Australia CEO Jerril Rechter said.
The pre-qualifying tournaments for the 2022 World Cup will be held in November 2021, with teams competing to qualify for one of the four global FIBA Qualifying Tournaments in February 2022, which will ultimately determine the final 12 participating countries who’ll take the court in Sydney.