By Stathis Trapezanlidis/ info@eurohoops.net
Five years after the previous World Cup and after expanding from 24 to 32 teams, things are going to be new and interesting in the upcoming FIBA World Cup.
Out of the 32 national teams which will compete, 23 can gain something for future competitions. That’s why there will be expanded qualification games and seven teams will gain direct access to the Tokyo Olympics depending their results on the FIBA World Cup. And on top of that, 16 teams will qualify for the four pre-Olympic tournaments which will decide the last four tickets to Tokyo 2020.
As you can see the top teams from each continent in the FIBA World Cup 2019 will classify directly to the Tokyo Olympics. Two teams will qualify from Europe, two more from America and one from Asia, one from Oceania and one from Africa. Japan has also already secured a spot in the Olympics.
The following best 16 teams will be divided into four pre-Olympic tournaments which will be held in the summer of 2020. The winner of each tournament will get a ticket for the Olympics. Each Olympic tournament will consist of six competitors with FIBA giving eight wildcards. In total 24 teams will fight for the last four spots of the Rio Olympics.
The new FIBA World Cup format
The 32 teams of the FIBA World Cup will be divided into eight first-round groups. The top two teams of each group will qualify to the second round and will also keep the points from all first-round games.
The second round consists of four groups (6-9 September) with each team playing two games against the two new opponents of its group.
The top two teams of each group will qualify for the quarterfinals (10-15 September) which will be decided in knock out games. The same applies to the semifinals, the third-place game and the final.
Meanwhile, there will also be knock out qualification games both for the 5-8 spots of the final standings and also for the 17-32 spots. The teams between the ninth and the 16th positions will be ranked according to the results in the first two rounds since they would all have qualified at least to the pre-Olympic tournaments.
On the contrary, the qualification games for places 5-8 are expected to decide direct tickets for the Tokyo Olympics. As you have already read, seven teams will complete the FIBA World Cup having a ticket for Tokyo.
Meanwhile, four new groups of four teams will be created for the 17-32 qualification games, which will be played simultaneously to the second round. The top two teams of each group – unless Japan ends up in the 25th spot or worst – will get a spot for the 2020 pre-Olympic tournaments.
