The official announcement of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) yesterday states that Russia and Belarus have been allowed to register U21 age group triples teams in the “League of Nations” competition of the Asian zone. This FIBA event will be held in China and Malaysia.
It is argued that the step was taken in accordance with the recommendation of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to remove the ban on young athletes from Russia and Belarus to participate in official Olympic sports competitions.
In other tournaments, FIBA for the time being maintains the ban on the participation of athletes from the mentioned countries in all age groups at least until the next FIBA meeting in September 2026.
“We strongly oppose the return of the aggressor countries to the international community. Although this decision regarding the competition in the Asian region does not seem to have a direct impact on the tournaments and championships held in Europe, our association views it as a fall in value. There is a possibility that if the mentioned countries pass the qualification in the Asian regional competition, they will also find themselves in the final stages of the world 3×3 tour in Europe. This would cause many legal and moral objections to most people. We will certainly raise this issue at the FIBA-Europe assembly in Iceland in a couple of weeks. It is clear that while the military aggression is taking place in Ukraine, neither Russian nor Belarusian basketball players can participate in any official competitions”, states the statement of the association “Lietuvos krästisinis”
