22 November, 2021
28 February, 2023

How to Qualify

Sixteen nations are vying for the continent's five spots in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023. They are Angola, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Congo DR, Cote d'Ivoire, Egypt, Guinea, Kenya, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Sudan, Tunisia, Uganda. 

How the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 Africa Qualifiers will play out

The 16 African teams will play the FIBA Basketball World Cup African Qualifiers during five World Cup qualifying windows.

In the first round, the 16 teams will be divided into four groups with four team apiece. Each team will face the other three teams in their group in two tournaments played over three event windows. The teams will play three games in each window. These nine-day windows will be played starting in November 2021, February 2022 and June 2022.

The top three teams from each group will advance to the Second Round of the African Qualifiers. Here, the group’s three advancing teams will join three other teams to create two six-team groups.  All teams will carry over their results from the First Round.

In the Second Round, each team will play each new team in their group during two tournaments played over two event windows schedule in August 2022 and February 2023.

At the end of these additional six games per team, the two top teams in each group, along with the best third-placed team, will qualify to the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023.

The qualification process follows the FIBA Competition System successfully used for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019.

When will the windows take place?  

  • 1st Window: November 22 - 30, 2021
  • 2nd Window: February 21 - March 1, 2022
  • 3rd Window: June 27 - July 5, 2022
  • 4th Window: August 22 - 30, 2022
  • 5th Window: February 20 - 28, 2023

What's a window? 

The windows are where teams will play the qualifying games. Each of the five windows for the African Qualifiers are nine days in length.

How did teams make it to the African Qualifiers?

The 16 teams participating in the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 African Qualifiers are the 16 teams which competed in the FIBA AfroBasket 2021. 

Which group will advancing teams go to from the First Round to the Second Round?

At the end of the third window, the top three teams from each group progress to the Second Round. In the Second Round, the First Round Groups merge as follows to form a new six-team groups:

  • A and C => E
  • B and D => F

What happens if teams in the same group finish a Round tied?

Here's how ties will be broken if two teams are tied in classification from the same group (ranked from first tie-breaker to be used to last): 

  1. Win-Loss
  2. Goal difference of games between teams concerned
  3. Higher number of goals in the games between them
  4. Higher goal difference in all games of the group
  5. Higher number of goals in all games in the group
  6. Draw

Do teams carry over their results from the First Round to the Second Round?

Yes! A team's final record after the conclusion of the Second Round includes their win-loss record from the First Round. This helps ensure every game matters throughout the five qualifying windows. 

FIBA Competition System

For more information, go to the Official Basketball Rules and consult Art. D.1.3 (pages 75-80)

Check out the other regional World Cup 2023 Qualifier sites