GB U20s withdrawn from Youth EuroBasket again

By Sam Neter on February 4, 2026

Great Britain will not enter men’s or women’s Under-20 teams into this summer’s FIBA Youth EuroBasket competitions, with the Home Country Associations confirming that only four of the possible six GB youth teams will compete in 2026.

GB teams have been entered at Under-16 and Under-18 level for both men and women, but no U20 teams will take part, with the decision based on the funding available to support the programmes.

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Basketball England says that “With a limited pot of resource available, it was decided to prioritise the entry of the younger teams at the start of their GB journeys”.

The decision comes following the liquidation of the British Basketball Federation in late 2025.

Since then, Basketball England, basketballscotland and Basketball Wales have signed a memorandum of understanding with FIBA to deliver a number of services previously provided by the BBF, including the administration of GB youth and Senior teams. GB Senior Women’s Head Coach Stella Kaltsidou and General Manager Jacob Lloyd also resigned last week, citing uncertainty, operational constraints, and a lack of clarity around the programme’s future.

The Home Country Associations also confirmed that a consultation will take place in the near future involving key stakeholders, including UK Sport and Sport England, to determine the future governance and funding structure of basketball in Great Britain.

A timetable for that process is expected imminently, with part of the consultation focusing on the formation and funding of a sustainable GB youth pathway.

This is not the first time Great Britain’s U20 programmes have been dropped due to financial constraints.

In 2022, the BBF also opted not to enter U20 teams into European competition, leaving the age group without a programme for three consecutive summers following the cancellation of international activity in 2020 and the decision not to enter youth teams into the Euro Challenger events in 2021.

The latest decision means the U20 age group once again misses out on European competition, continuing a pattern where the transition point between youth and senior international basketball remains unsupported.

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