France will stage the 2031 men’s basketball World Cup
It’s official as of Wednesday. Fiba has named France as the host nation for the 2031 men’s Basketball World Cup. Three cities are on the list: Lille, Lyon and Paris. The tournament will run from 29 August to 14 September, with the knockout stage in Paris. France has never hosted the event before.
The timing is no accident. Two years after the Paris Olympics, French basketball is riding the wave of a golden spell. In 2024, the national team had the country hooked as it marched all the way to the final, only to run into the United States. The arenas were packed. Across the Games, basketball accounted for 10% of all tickets sold, with 1.1 million spectators. Those numbers clearly helped France’s bid land in front of the international federation.
Jean-Pierre Hunckler was not waiting for Fiba’s verdict before making his case. The president of the French Basketball Federation was already talking up the idea in October 2025 to AFP. “There has never been a Basketball World Cup in France. Quite a few things are lining up,” he said then, before pointing to the Olympic figures. “1.1 million spectators is huge,” he added. The French bid had been brewing for some time.
Japan lands the 2030 women’s World Cup
In the same announcement, Fiba awarded Japan the 2030 women’s World Cup. Two decisions at once, and a clear sign the federation wants hosts who know how to handle major sporting events. France and Japan have both staged the Olympics in recent years, and that clearly counted.
For France, there is a sporting angle too. Hosting a World Cup on home soil in 2031 will pile more pressure on a generation of players expected to back up the promise of Paris 2024. Victor Wembanyama, who should be in his prime by then, will be under the microscope. The French fans will be there as well, and after what they saw at the Olympics, they’ll be demanding nothing less than a proper run.
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