FIBA Lifts Temporary Suspension Imposed on BBF

The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) has lifted the temporary suspension on the British Basketball Federation (BBF), allowing it to participate in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 European Qualifiers, starting on 27 November 2025. However, BBF’s authority to licence and recognise domestic men’s club competitions in Great Britain remains suspended. Instead, FIBA has entered into a direct recognition agreement with Super League Basketball (SLB), establishing a framework for organising and governing domestic competitions whilst ensuring regulatory integrity.

FIBA had temporarily suspended the BBF in October 2025 over governance concerns and established a task force to investigate “regulatory non-compliance” within British basketball. The dispute emerged after the BBF granted a 15-year licence to GBB League Ltd (GBBL) to operate a new professional men’s competition—the Great Britain Basketball League. Nine SLB clubs challenged the decision, claiming that the tender process conducted by the BBF was “illegal and unjust,” and refused to join the new league. They additionally argued that the BBF had breached UK competition law, exploited its dominant position, and failed to fulfil its duties as a sports governing body.

In a related precedent, FIBA had previously suspended the national teams of Russia and Belarus from international competitions in March 2022, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.