Hong Kong to host FIBA 3x3 Olympic Qualifiers in April.

FIBA has finally decided that Hong Kong will be one of the hosts of the 3x3 Basketball Qualifiers for Paris 2024. This crucial event will decide who gets the ticket to Paris. Playing it safe seems to be FIBA's motto for these qualifiers, which will begin in April 2024.

The success of hosting the FIBA 3x3 World Tour over the past two years has played a significant role, not only in terms of the sport itself but also in terms of the spectacle surrounding this form of basketball, which draws much of its excitement from the crowds.

For the past two years, Hong Kong has hosted the FIBA 3x3 World Tour, setting records in terms of attendance, which is crucial for the promotion of a sport that is increasingly visible on the streets of many countries around the world, if not so much in terms of television exposure, which in the long run generates the business necessary for the development of a sport.

In addition to the Hong Kong event, the FIBA 3x3 UOQT 2 will be held in Utsunomiya, Japan, from 3-5 May 2024, and the FIBA 3x3 OQT will take place in the second largest city in Hungary, Debrecen, from 16-19 May 2024. Each tournament will see the world's best teams compete for a place to Paris 2024. A total of 64 teams will compete for a place at the historic Place de la Concorde in the heart of Paris from 30 July to 5 August 2024..

Serbia's Dejan Majstorovic and Lithuania's Ignas Vaitkus in the 2022 World Cup final. GETTY IMAGES
Serbia's Dejan Majstorovic and Lithuania's Ignas Vaitkus in the 2022 World Cup final. GETTY IMAGES

Qualifying venues and participating nations:

-UOQT 1. Hong Kong, China, to be held in April 2024.

Men: Hong Kong, Netherlands, Mongolia, Latvia, Austria, Switzerland, Egypt, New Zealand

Women: Hong Kong, Hungary, Netherlands, Azerbaijan, Poland, Egypt, Mongolia, Chile

-UOQT 2. Utsunomiya, Japan, will take place from 3-5 May 2024.

Men: Egypt, Puerto Rico, Mongolia, Lithuania, Japan, France, Latvia

Women: Kenya, Brazil, Australia, Netherlands, Japan, Germany, Canada, Austria

-OQT. Debrecen, Hungary, will take place from 23-26 May 2024.

Men: Hungary, Egypt, Madagascar, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mongolia, Japan, France, Lithuania, Netherlands, Latvia, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, Germany and Poland. 

Women: Hungary, Egypt, Tunisia, Canada, Chile, Japan, Mongolia, Germany, Spain, Netherlands, Lithuania, Azerbaijan, Poland, Czech Republic, Italy and Israel.