The 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup is an opportunity for Germany, on and off the court. With strong ticket sales and increasingly good performances on the floor, the sport as a whole is on the rise. This is a chance to really show something special.
We’re still the guts of two weeks from a ball being tipped and the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup has already proven to be an off-court success. Over 160,000 tickets were sold by early August, with Germany games naturally selling big.
There’s long been an audience for basketball in Germany but the women’s game is clearly enjoying a growth spurt. This event can build on that substantially.
The sport is on the rise
The competition for sport in Germany can’t be overstated. Football’s dominance is ludicrous. Then there’s the long legacy of handball, along with ice hockey and volleyball also competing for attention. All of these draw crowds so standing out is tough.
The success of the men’s side in recent years is well documented, winning the 2023 FIBA World Cup and then EuroBasket 2025. The women’s game however is also enjoying a surge. Gold in 3×3 at the Paris 2024 Olympics proved a huge win, with an average of 7.4 million viewers on ZDF for the final against Spain.
Overall participation is rising steadily, with 288,444 members per the most recent DBB stats. That’s a 5.3 per cent year on year increase It’s a really strong number but with ample room to continue growing. The 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup presents an obvious opportunity for another big jump.
The on-floor performances are worth shouting about
The history of Germany’s women’s 5×5 side has largely been dismal. This is only the second edition of the FIBA Women’s World Cup they are playing in and both appearances came as hosts.
Yet there’s real reason to believe that is changing. Ranked 11th in the World heading into this tournament, they got 6th and 5th at the last two editions of EuroBasket Women and made a first ever appearance in the Olympics in 2024.
There’s a young core here, even allowing for the injury woes, worth shouting about. Leonie Fiebich, Luisa Geiselsoder, and Frieda Buhner are all familiar faces for the fans turning up in Berlin. The absence of Satou Sabally and the injury doubts over her sister Nyara don’t help but this isn’t a side that rides or dies based on one player, unlike for example the Dirk era with the men.
Added to this is a growing domestic game, with Dyn agreeing a three year deal to stream every top flight game. Alba Berlin women have also proven a solid draw in their own right, with the decisive Game 5 of the 2024 championship proving a rapid sellout.
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The opportunity goes beyond Berlin
There’s a consistent pipeline coming through at present. While 2018 remains the lone year they won a European title in any age group, winning the U18 the year after they won the B Division, they have managed to maintain a regular top table seat.
Their U16, U18, and U20 sides all had creditable performances this summer, with all three retaining A Division status. The 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup has a chance to boost that pipeline, with more young German girls getting inspired to take up the sport.
The key goal is to use that surge in interest to make the women’s game bigger in a way that is sustainable on a long-term basis. Major events create moments but, when used correctly, can help to develop long-term habits.
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Success breeds expectation
Spain, Japan, and Mali await Germany in Group A of the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup. Those attending know that’s a tough group but there’s also an expectation that the hosts will do more than merely turn up.
The injury issues may lower Germany’s ceiling for this competition but they also present an opportunity to see if the women’s game has truly created depth. When Germany hosted in 1998, it’s quite clear that hosting wasn’t transformative as the sport remained in the doldrums for the guts of 20 years afterwards.
Now, in 2026, the opportunity is different. Women’s basketball is bigger worldwide and, crucially, the sport is growing in Germany itself. This is a real chance to not just grow the audience for women’s basketball in Germany but to also strengthen the ties with the existing fanbase, turning admirers into advocates. That’s what sustainable growth looks like.
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