UTSUNOMIYA, Japan (November 1, 2019) – Canada’s men have successfully advanced to the 2020 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) as the participants were revealed during a livestreamed show in Utsunomiya, Japan on the eve of the FIBA 3x3 World Tour Final.

The FIBA 3x3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament will feature 40 teams and be staged in India in March 2020.

A series of universality rules were implemented for the 2020 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament with a maximum of 10 teams per continent and a minimum of 30 different countries represented at the Olympic Qualifying Tournament.  Only the top 6 teams qualified for the OQT based on ranking could have a team both in men and women.

The last 10 berths in each gender were allocated following the Federation Ranking list only if the respective country didn’t already have a team in any gender qualified.  Therefore, Canada’s men (18th) have advanced to the OQT as a result of a higher rank than the women (26th) in the FIBA 3x3 Federation Ranking lists.

The FIBA 3x3 Federation Ranking is calculated by adding up the FIBA 3x3 Individual World Ranking points of the Top 100 nationals. It not only rewards the elite performances of the players but also the 3x3 activity in the territory of each National Federation.

The automatic seeding for the FIBA 3x3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament was completed during a livestreamed ceremony in Utsunomiya, Japan on November 1, 2019.  Canada is in Group D along with Netherlands, Latvia, Croatia and India.

Twenty teams per gender are eligible to participate in the 2020 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament as per the following criteria:

- The Host NOC of the OQT, if not yet qualified in the corresponding gender through the Federation Ranking List

- The three (3) medallists of the 2019 FIBA 3x3 World Cup (if not yet qualified for the Olympics directly);

- The 16 (or more, if Host NOC of the OQT and/or some of the 2019 FIBA 3x3 World Cup medallist teams are already qualified for the Olympics) highest ranked NOCs at the 3x3 Federation Ranking List of 1 November 2019 not yet qualified to the Olympic Games through the Federation Ranking List (including in any case the Host Country of the Olympic Games if not yet qualified);

- Subject to the last 10 berths in each gender will be allocated following the Federation Ranking List only if the respective NOC has not already a team in any gender qualified;

- Subject to a maximum of 10 teams per gender from the same Continent shall take part.

Six tickets (three per gender) to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics – where 3x3 will make its debut – will be awarded at the FIBA 3x3 Olympic Qualifying Tournament.  These teams will join four (depending on Host Country place) highest ranked NOCs per gender on the 3x3 Federation Ranking List.

The last ticket (per gender) to the 3x3 event of the Olympics will be awarded at the Universality Olympic Qualifying Tournament, which will feature these 6 teams and take place in Budapest, Hungary in April 2020. Besides the hosts (including the Olympic Games hosts Japan’s women if not yet qualified via the OQT), the other teams were the highest ranked teams not yet qualified to the Olympic Games, who have not been represented in Basketball (men or women) in the past 2 editions of the Olympic Games).

Along with host, Japan, there will be eight men’s teams and eight women’s teams competing as 3x3’s makes its debut at the Olympic Games on July 25-29, 2020.  On June 9, 2017, 3x3 was added to the Olympic Program, starting from the Tokyo 2020 Games.

To be eligible to participate in the Olympic Games, all athletes must have a confirmed account at https://play.fiba3x3.com and at least two (2) athletes, out of the four (4) per team, have to be ranked within the top 10 of their national individual ranking.

Click here for additional information on the Tokyo 2020 Qualification System.

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