page_title: FIBA
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: FIBA / History
context_page_description: The International Basketball Federation is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. Originally known as the Fédération Internationale de Basketball Amateur, in 1989 it dropped the word amateur from its name but retained the acronym; the "BA" now represents the first two letters of basketball.
  FIBA defines the rules of basketball, specifies the equipment and facilities required, organises international competitions, regulates the transfer of athletes across countries, and controls the appointment of international referees. A total of 213 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 American-Canadian creator James Naismith.
context_section_description: 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 Fédération internationale de basket-ball amateur. 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.
  FIBA has organized a World Championship, now known as World Cup, for men since 1950 and a Women's World Championship, now known as the Women's World Cup, since 1953. From 1986 through 2014, both events were held every four years, alternating with the Olympics. As noted above, the men's World Cup was moved to a new four-year cycle, with tournaments in the year before the Summer Olympics, after 2014.
  The Federation headquarters moved to Munich in 1956, then returned to Geneva in 2002. In 1991, it founded the FIBA Hall of Fame; the first induction ceremony was held on 12 September 2007, during EuroBasket 2007. During its 81st anniversary in 2013, FIBA moved into its new headquarters, "The House of Basketball", at Mies. Andreas Zagklis became the  Secretary General of FIBA, on 7 December 2018.
caption: FIBA divides the world into 5 commissions, each roughly based on a continent.