International Basketball Federation

The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. FIBA defines the rules of basketball, specifies the equipment and facilities required, organizes international competitions, regulates the transfer of athletes across countries, and controls the appointment of international referees. A total of 212 national federations are now members, organized since 1989 into five zones: Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania. FIBA organizes both the men's and women's FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament and the Summer Olympics Basketball Tournament, which are sanctioned by the IOC. The FIBA Basketball World Cup is a world tournament for men's national teams held every four years. Teams compete for the Naismith Trophy, named in honor of basketball's Canadian-American creator James Naismith. The tournament structure is similar but not identical to that of the FIFA World Cup in association football; these tournaments occurred in the same year from 1970 through 2014, but starting in 2019, the Basketball World Cup will move to the year following the FIFA World Cup. A parallel event for women's teams, the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup, is also held quadrennial; from 1986 through 2014, it was held in the same year as the men's event but in a different country. History 1932–49; founding and early years The association was founded in Geneva in 1932, two years after the sport was officially recognized by the IOC. Before 1934, basketball was under the umbrella of the International Amateur Handball Federation. Its original name was . The eight nation's basketball federations that were the founding members of FIBA were: Argentina's Basketball Federation, Czechoslovakia's Basketball Federation, Greece's Basketball Federation, Italy's Basketball Federation, Latvia's Basketball Federation, Portugal's Basketball Federation, Romania's Basketball Federation, and Switzerland's Basketball Federation. During the 1936 Summer Olympics held in Berlin, the Federation named James Naismith (1861–1939), the founder of basketball, as its Honorary President.