BEIRUT (Lebanon) – The FIBA Regional Office-Asia on Thursday, August 27, 2026 confirmed that the Women’s Basketball League Asia (WBLA) 2026 will be held in Bengaluru, India from October 20-25, 2026.
Six teams will compete in the WBLA 2026, featuring the champions of the national leagues of China, Japan, Korea and Chinese Taipei, joined by the champions of India and a representative from the Philippines, who have been awarded a wild card.
Sichuan Yuanda Meile, champions of the WCBA, will aim to make it three consecutive titles for a team from China. They will be challenged by Denso Iris, champions of Japan’s WJBL, KB Stars of Korea’s WKBL and Cathay Life Pacific of Chinese Taipei’s WSBL. Cathay Life Pacific will be the only team to compete in the WBLA for a third consecutive year.
The quartet will be joined by Indian Railways of India and Akari Sparks of the Philippines.
The event will mark the first time an Indian city has hosted a FIBA Asia-level club competition. It will also be the first time the WBLA – FIBA’s flagship competition for women’s club teams in Asia – is held outside China.
Sichuan and Dongguan, both cities in China, hosted the first two editions of the WBLA in 2024 and 2025, respectively. On both occasions, the home team went on to lift the title, with Sichuan Yuanda Meile winning in 2024 and Dongguan New Century triumphing in 2025.
Bengaluru has also hosted a long list of FIBA Asia events, particularly on the women’s side, in recent years.
The southern Indian city hosted the FIBA Women’s Asia Cup in 2017 and 2019, the FIBA Women’s U16 Asia Cup in 2017, and the FIBA U18 Women’s Asia Cup in 2018 and 2022. It also hosted the erstwhile FIBA Asia U18 Championship, now known as the FIBA U18 Asia Cup, in 2004.
Bengaluru was also the host city for the FIBA Asia General Assembly in 2019 and, more recently, the FIBA Asia Mid-Term General Assembly in 2025.
The groupings and game schedule will be announced soon.
FIBA