FIBA World Championship - Tournament Format

Tournament Format

The Basketball World Cup has existed in several different formats throughout the years as it has expanded and contracted between 10 and 24 teams. The first tournament in 1950 began with a ten-team double-elimination tournament followed by a six-team round robin round to determine the champion. Between 1954 and 1974, each tournament started with a group stage preliminary round; the top teams in each preliminary round group then moved on to a final round robin group to determine the champion. In 1978, FIBA added a gold medal game between the top two finishers in the final group and a bronze medal game between the third and fourth place teams. In each year between 1959 and 1982, the host team received a bye into the final group. Of the seven host teams in this era, only three medaled despite the head start. As a result, FIBA made the host team compete in the preliminary round starting in 1986.

In 1986, the tournament briefly expanded to 24 teams. Four groups of six teams each competed in the preliminary round group stage. The top three teams in each group then competed in the second group stage, followed by a four-team knockout tournament between the top two finishers in each group. The championship contracted back down to 16 teams for the 1990 tournament. The three tournaments between 1990 and 1998 each had two group stages followed by a four-team knockout tournament to determine the medalists. The 2002 tournament expanded the knockout round to eight teams.

In 2006, FIBA made the decision to expand back to 24 teams and introduced the format that is currently in place. Under the current format, the teams are divided into four preliminary round groups of six teams each. Should teams be tied at the end of the preliminary round, the ties are broken by the following criteria in order:

1. Game results between tied teams
2. Goal average between games of the tied teams
3. Goal average for all games of the tied teams
4. Drawing of lots

The top four teams in each group then advance to a sixteen-team single-elimination knockout round. It begins with the eighth finals, where the top teams in each group play the fourth-placed teams in another group and the second and third-placed teams in each group face off. This is followed by the quarterfinals, semifinals, and final. The semifinal losers play in the bronze medal game, while the quarterfinal losers play in a consolation bracket to determine fifth through eighth places.