BIG NEWS CAME EARLIER TODAY THAT GREAT BRITAIN HAS RECOGNISED MASTERS WITHIN ITS NATIONAL TEAM PERFORMANCE PATHWAY
The home nation governing bodies have aligned to recognise the masters age group as integral to its basketball community, and has taken the formal decision to include it in its performance pathway.
With a plethora of masters tournaments organised by different private entities worldwide, FIBA – as the IOC recognised world governing body – has taken the step not only to regularize the standard of international 10-day championship events but also to encourage its member federations to embrace masters players within their organisations. It’s a landmark decision for FIBA and for us here in Great Britain, and this recognition truly underlines the inclusive nature of the sport in all its forms.
GB Maxibasketball is truly honoured to be working as part of the governing body to coordinate its official national masters teams. Our men’s programme lead, Jesse Sazant, said:
“This is an exciting step forward for masters basketball. The dedication and commitment these athletes show is inspirational. It is fantastic that this age group will now be represented in the performance pathway”
We will have ten great teams taking part in the FIMBA European Championship in Athens this year, as (financially) they had already committed to that event. However, we can now officially confirm that our GB Men’s 50+ team has been registered to take part in the inaugural FIBA Masters Open from 4-12 July 2026 in Corinth & Loutraki, signaling Great Britain’s support for FIBA.
Wishing all our teams every success in Greece, as we look forward to the next phase. 
photo credit – Rafe Abrook (2024)The full and official news release in available on the Basketball England website, which readers can view here:
