MIAMI (United States) – The FIBA Women's Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament 2026 is set to take place in Guadalajara, Mexico. The competition will be an intense battle for a place on the road to the Olympic Games. Before the opening tip, here's a look at everything you need to know about the competition.
What is the FIBA Women's Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament 2026?
This tournament represents the first stop on the road to Los Angeles 2028 and was introduced as part of FIBA's new Women's Competition System, which came into effect in 2024. It provides the eight national teams that failed to qualify for the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026 with another opportunity to keep their Olympic dreams alive. The winner of the tournament will take the coveted ticket to the FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournaments 2028.
Who is competing?
The eight participating national teams are Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, Philippines, Senegal and South Sudan.
What's at stake?
The winner of the Final will earn a spot in the FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournaments, which will be held in February 2028. A total of 16 teams will compete in those tournaments that will take place at four locations around the globe. The participating teams will qualify through the 2027 continental championships as follows: FIBA Women's AfroBasket: Top 2 teams FIBA Women's Asia Cup: Top 4 teams FIBA Women's AmeriCup: Top 4 teams FIBA Women's EuroBasket: Top 6 teams
What is the competition format?
The eight teams will be divided into two groups of four.
Each team will play every other team in their group once, for a total of three Group Phase games, to be played from August 17-20.
The top two teams from each group will advance to the Semi-Finals (1A vs. 2B and 1B vs. 2A), scheduled for August 22.
The Semi-Final winners will meet in the Final on August 23, with the winner claiming the lone berth to the FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournaments 2028.
A total of 15 games will be played throughout the tournament. The teams that do not qualify in Guadalajara will still have a pathway to Los Angeles 2028. They can earn places in the FIBA Women's Olympic Qualifying Tournaments 2028 through their respective 2027 Women's Continental Cups.
Which players will be competing?
The final 12-player rosters for each national team will be confirmed following the Technical Meeting held before the start of the tournament. However, the participating teams have already begun announcing their preliminary squads. Stay up to date with every roster announcement through our Roster Tracker below:
FIBA