The FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 runs from Friday, August 27, to Sunday, September 12, 2027, in Doha, Qatar. Thirty-two teams play 92 games in four arenas, with the final at Lusail Arena.
The FIBA World Cup 2027 is the 20th edition of the men’s basketball world championship and the first held in the Arab world. It is also the largest FIBA World Cup ever staged in a single city: all 92 games are in the Doha area, where the 2019 and 2023 editions were spread across several cities and countries.
As of October 7, 2026, 31 of the 32 places are still undecided: only host Qatar and Turkey have qualified, and the last qualifying games are played on Tuesday, March 2, 2027.
The tables below give the tournament dates, the four arenas, the remaining qualifying windows, how many teams each region sends, and tip-off conversions from Qatar time.
Table of Contents
When is the FIBA World Cup 2027?
The FIBA World Cup 2027 starts on Friday, August 27, 2027, and ends with the final at Lusail Arena on Sunday, September 12, 2027. The tournament lasts 17 days, counting both the first and last game days (FIBA; Wikipedia).
The table below lists the dates confirmed as of October 7, 2026, with weekdays.
| Milestone | Date | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Last qualifying window opens | Monday, February 22, 2027 | Confirmed |
| Qualification ends | Tuesday, March 2, 2027 | Confirmed |
| Final draw | Not yet announced | Pending |
| First game day | Friday, August 27, 2027 | Confirmed |
| Final, Lusail Arena | Sunday, September 12, 2027 | Confirmed |
FIBA has not yet published a game-by-game schedule or stage dates. Individual game dates, pairings, and tip-off times follow the final draw, which takes place after the last qualifying window closes.
How the FIBA World Cup 2027 format works
The FIBA World Cup 2027 uses the same 32-team, 92-game structure as the 2023 edition. Its four phases are listed below (Wikipedia).
- Group phase: eight groups of four play a single round-robin, 48 games in total.
- Second round and classification: the top two in each group form four new groups of four and carry their group results forward. The bottom two in each group play classification games for 17th to 32nd place.
- Final phase: the top two in each second-round group reach the quarter-finals. Quarter-final losers play classification games for 5th to 8th place.
- Medal games: two semi-finals, a third-place game and the final.
Every team plays at least five games, because the teams that fail to advance from the group phase still play two classification games.
How the FIBA World Cup 2027 decides Olympic places
The World Cup is the main qualifying route for men’s basketball at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. Under the qualifying system described on Wikipedia, the best two teams from the Americas and from Europe qualify directly, along with the best team from each of Africa, Asia and Oceania.
The United States qualifies for Los Angeles 2028 as the Olympic host, whatever its World Cup result. Other teams can still reach Los Angeles through FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments.
FIBA World Cup 2027 qualifiers
Eighty teams entered the FIBA World Cup 2027 qualifiers, which run in six windows from November 2025 to March 2027, with 420 qualifying games across FIBA’s four regions (FIBA). The table below lists all six windows; the last two have not yet been played (FIBA European Qualifiers).
| Window | Dates | Round | Status on October 7, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Monday, November 24, to Tuesday, December 2, 2025 | First round | Played |
| 2 | Monday, February 23, to Tuesday, March 3, 2026 | First round | Played |
| 3 | Monday, June 29, to Tuesday, July 7, 2026 | First round | Played |
| 4 | Monday, August 24, to Tuesday, September 1, 2026 | Second round | Played |
| 5 | Monday, November 23, to Tuesday, December 1, 2026 | Second round | To be played |
| 6 | Monday, February 22, to Tuesday, March 2, 2027 | Second round | To be played |
The dates above are FIBA’s published European windows. The Americas, Asia-Oceania and Africa qualifiers use the same six FIBA international windows.
How many teams each region sends to Qatar
Each FIBA region has a fixed number of World Cup places. The table below shows the allocation (NBA.com).
| Region | Places | How the places are decided |
|---|---|---|
| FIBA Europe | 12 | Top three in each of four six-team second-round groups |
| FIBA Americas | 7 | Second-round group standings |
| FIBA Asia and Oceania | 7 | Second-round group standings |
| FIBA Africa | 5 | Second-round group standings |
| Host | 1 | Qatar, qualified automatically |
In Europe, the top three teams in each first-round group advance. The groups then merge in pairs (A with B, C with D, E with F, G with H) to form four second-round groups of six.
Each team’s first-round win-loss record counts toward its second-round standing, so early results still matter in the final windows.
Teams qualified so far
Two teams had confirmed places by October 7, 2026. Each is listed below with the route it took.
- Qatar: host nation, confirmed when FIBA awarded the tournament on Friday, April 28, 2023. Qatar was the only bidder (Wikipedia).
- Turkey: qualified from European second-round Group J after window 4, which ended on Tuesday, September 1, 2026 (NBA.com).
The United States had not mathematically qualified by the same date. It led Americas Group E with seven wins and one loss after window 4.
FIBA World Cup 2027 tip-off times by time zone
All FIBA World Cup 2027 games are played on Arabia Standard Time (AST, UTC+3), and Qatar does not use daylight saving time (timeanddate.com). Tip-off times are published with the game schedule after the draw.
The table below gives the fixed offset from Qatar time during late August and September 2027, with a sample 9:00 p.m. AST tip-off converted for each location.
| Viewer location | Time zone in Aug–Sep | Offset from Qatar | 9:00 p.m. AST tip-off becomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | PDT (UTC−7) | −10 hours | 11:00 a.m. |
| New York, Toronto | EDT (UTC−4) | −7 hours | 2:00 p.m. |
| Buenos Aires, São Paulo | UTC−3 | −6 hours | 3:00 p.m. |
| Accra, Dakar | GMT (UTC+0) | −3 hours | 6:00 p.m. |
| London, Lagos | UTC+1 | −2 hours | 7:00 p.m. |
| Berlin, Madrid, Belgrade | CEST (UTC+2) | −1 hour | 8:00 p.m. |
| Istanbul, Doha | UTC+3 | 0 | 9:00 p.m. |
| Manila, Beijing, Perth | UTC+8 | +5 hours | 2:00 a.m., next day |
| Tokyo, Seoul | UTC+9 | +6 hours | 3:00 a.m., next day |
| Sydney, Melbourne | AEST (UTC+10) | +7 hours | 4:00 a.m., next day |
Evening tip-offs in Doha fall after midnight in Manila, Tokyo and Sydney. A 9:00 p.m. AST game reaches the Philippines, one of basketball’s largest audiences, at 2:00 a.m. the next day.
Afternoon games fit North American daytime. For example, a 4:00 p.m. AST tip-off is 9:00 a.m. in New York and 6:00 a.m. in Los Angeles.
Where is the FIBA World Cup 2027 played?
The FIBA World Cup 2027 is played in four indoor arenas in the Doha metropolitan area, and Lusail Arena hosts the final (FIBA). The table below lists each arena with its approximate capacity (Wikipedia).
| Arena | Location | Approximate capacity | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lusail Arena | Lusail | 15,227 | Hosts the final |
| Al Attiyah Arena | Al Rayyan | 8,600 | Multi-sport indoor arena |
| Al Janoub Arena | Al Wakrah | 8,200 | Converted from a 2022 FIFA World Cup football stadium |
| Duhail Arena | Doha | 5,500 | Smallest of the four venues |
Lusail Arena, the largest of the four venues, hosted the 2015 World Men’s Handball Championship. The tournament takes place in late summer, when outdoor temperatures in Doha are high. All four venues are climate-controlled indoor arenas.
Previous FIBA World Cup winners
Seven nations have won the FIBA World Cup across 19 editions since 1950. The table below lists each champion and its winning years.
| Team | Titles | Winning years |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 5 | 1954, 1986, 1994, 2010, 2014 |
| Yugoslavia | 5 | 1970, 1978, 1990, 1998, 2002 |
| Soviet Union | 3 | 1967, 1974, 1982 |
| Brazil | 2 | 1959, 1963 |
| Spain | 2 | 2006, 2019 |
| Argentina | 1 | 1950 |
| Germany | 1 | 2023 |
Germany is the defending champion. It beat Serbia in the 2023 final in Manila to win its first world title (Wikipedia). Germany must come through the European qualifiers to defend the title in Doha.
What the FIBA World Cup 2027 is not
The FIBA World Cup 2027 is the men’s five-on-five national-team championship. It is not the women’s World Cup, the 3×3 World Cup, or a WNBA or NBA competition.
| Event | Players | Organiser | Relation to Qatar 2027 |
|---|---|---|---|
| FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 | Men’s national teams, 5×5 | FIBA | This tournament |
| FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup | Women’s national teams, 5×5 | FIBA | Separate event; the 2026 edition was held in Germany |
| FIBA 3×3 World Cup | National teams, 3×3 | FIBA | Different format, held every year |
| WNBA and NBA | Professional clubs | WNBA and NBA | Club leagues, not national-team competitions |
| EuroBasket, AmeriCup, AfroBasket, Asia Cup | Men’s national teams | FIBA regions | Continental championships, not world championships |
| Olympic basketball, Los Angeles 2028 | National teams | IOC with FIBA | Separate event that the World Cup qualifies for |
The FIBA World Cup 2027 also falls between other major 2027 tournaments. It begins 33 days after the FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027 final on Sunday, July 25.
It ends 19 days before the Rugby World Cup 2027 opens in Perth on Friday, October 1. The Cricket World Cup 2027 follows on Saturday, October 2.
Frequently asked questions
Who is the defending FIBA World Cup champion?
Germany is the defending champion. It beat Serbia in the 2023 final in Manila to win its first FIBA World Cup. Germany has not qualified automatically for 2027 because only the host earns a direct place. It must finish in the top three of its European second-round group by Tuesday, March 2, 2027.
Has the United States qualified for the FIBA World Cup 2027?
Not yet, as of October 7, 2026. The United States led Americas Group E with seven wins and one loss after the fourth window, which ended on Tuesday, September 1, 2026. Two windows remain, in November 2026 and February 2027, and seven of the 32 World Cup places go to the Americas.
How many teams play in the FIBA World Cup 2027?
Thirty-two teams play in the FIBA World Cup 2027: 12 from Europe, seven each from the Americas and from Asia and Oceania, five from Africa, and host Qatar. They play 92 games over 17 days, and every team plays at least five games because the teams eliminated in the group phase still play classification games.
When is the FIBA World Cup 2027 draw?
FIBA had not announced the draw date as of October 7, 2026. The draw can only take place after qualification ends on Tuesday, March 2, 2027, because 30 of the 32 places are decided in the final two windows. Game dates, pairings, and tip-off times are confirmed after the draw.
Is the FIBA World Cup 2027 an Olympic qualifier?
Yes. The FIBA World Cup 2027 sends seven teams directly to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics: the best two from the Americas, the best two from Europe, and the best team from each of Africa, Asia, and Oceania. The United States qualifies as Olympic host. Other teams can still qualify through FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments.
What time zone is the FIBA World Cup 2027 in?
All games are on Arabia Standard Time, UTC+3, and Qatar does not use daylight saving time. During the tournament, Doha is 7 hours ahead of New York, 2 hours ahead of London, 1 hour ahead of Berlin and Madrid, and 5 hours behind Manila. Evening games in Doha air after midnight in East Asia and Australia.
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