MIES (Switzerland) - After two years of waiting, the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup returns with the 2026 cadet championship coming back to Istanbul for a second consecutive time starting on June 27. Here is a breakdown on everything you need to know about the biennial tournament with all 16 teams hoping to raise the trophy on July 5.
What is the format?
The 16 teams in the competition were drawn into four groups of four teams. All teams will play each of the other nations in their group in round robin style in the Group Phase over the first three days of action in Istanbul.
Group A: France, Italy, Japan, USA Group B: Cameroon, Canada, China, Lithuania Group C: New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Slovenia, Türkiye Group D: Australia, Côte d'Ivoire, Serbia, Venezuela
All 16 teams advance to the Knockout Phase, starting with the Round of 16. The top finisher in Group A then takes on the fourth placed team from Group B. Group A's second place finisher plays the third place team from Group B; the third placed team from Group A faces Group B's second place team; and the Group B winner goes against the fourth place team from Group A. The same crossover takes place among the Group C and Group D teams.
You will find more info about the competition system here.
For more information about the host city, visit the destination page for Istanbul, and here you can check out the venues.
Who will play?
The Roster Tracker is the one-stop destination for all national federation roster announcements.
Who won it last time around?
United States rolled to the title at the FIBA U17 World Cup 2024 with USA's Cameron Boozer taking home Most Valuable Player honors. It was the seventh straight global cadet championship for the Americans.
Here are links to recaps of the past FIBA U17 World Cups: 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2022 and 2024.
You can find the all-time list of medalists here.
Which players have appeared in this tournament in the past?
Hundreds of outstanding players have competed in this event since its inaugural competition in 2010. Here is a look back at the Top 20 ballers of all time - 20-16, 15-11, 10-6 and 5-1.
Also, you can vote on who you think is the #FIBAU17 GOAT and who will win the FIBA U17 World Cup 2026.
How did the teams qualify for this 2026 edition?
With Türkiye designated as hosts, the other teams booked their tickets to the 2026 competition via their continental championship. USA, Canada, Venezuela and Puerto Rico came through the FIBA U16 AmeriCup 2025. Côte d'Ivoire and Cameron secured their spots from the FIBA U16 AfroBasket 2025.
Australia, China, New Zealand and Japan got their tickets through the FIBA U16 Asia Cup 2025. And Serbia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Italy and France finished top five in the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2025.
Where can I buy tickets?
Tickets for the games can be purchased here.
Do you want more information about the participating teams?
Make sure to check out our review on the 16 participating teams and also we looked at every team and tried to argue why they could win the crown - here is Part 1 and this is Part 2.
Our social media team will be hard at work to give you the best coverage possible on dedicated NextGenHoops channels on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
You should also look out for #FIBAU17 and make sure you include the hashtag on your posts too!
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