Basketball Ireland 'assessing next steps' after being drawn with Israel for Women's qualifiers

Eva Osborne

Basketball Ireland said they are "assessing the next steps" after being drawn with Israel for the Women's EuroBasket 2027 qualifiers.

James Weldon's side will be in qualifying Group A, along with Israel, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Luxembourg, following Wednesday's draw.

The two sides met in a controversial qualifier in the Latvian capital, Riga, in February of 2024, despite public pressure to boycott the game over Israel's bombardment of Gaza.

Ireland are due to travel to Israel for an away game on November 18th.

In a statement, Basketball Ireland said: "Basketball Ireland is extremely alarmed by the ongoing humanitarian situation in Gaza and as such we are assessing our next steps following today’s FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2027 Qualifiers draw, which saw Ireland drawn in Group A alongside Israel, in addition to Bosnia and Herzegovina and Luxembourg.

"Basketball Ireland have spoken to FIBA Europe subsequently and are awaiting clarifications on a number of matters.

"Basketball Ireland will also be liaising with players, coaching staff, Sport Ireland, the Government, and other stakeholders over the coming days and we will provide an update next week."

Ireland are due to begin their FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2027 Qualifiers campaign with back-to-back home games against Luxembourg on November 12th, followed by Bosnia and Herzegovina on November 15th, before an away game against Israel on November 18th.

"Upon commencement of the competition, Basketball Ireland would be subject to a fine of up to €80,000 should Ireland fail to fulfil their first fixture with Israel, while failure to play the return game would lead to a fine of up to €100,000 and removal from the FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2027 Qualifiers, as well as the FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2029 Qualifiers," Basketball Ireland said.

"Should Basketball Ireland elect to withdraw from the FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2027 Qualifiers campaign entirely before they commence, a fine of up to €30,000 would be applied, while FIBA Europe rules state that they “may impose additional sanctions according to the FIBA Internal Regulations - Book 1 - General Provisions (Chapter 6)”, which includes ‘disqualification from a competition in progress and/or exclusion from future competitions’."