Tall Ferns Mexico-Bound for World Cup Pre-Qualifiers

The New Zealand Tall Ferns now know where their journey to the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026 begins, following this morning’s draw for the first ever FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026 Pre-Qualifying Tournaments in August.

With the draw determining both group opponents and tournament locations for all 16 teams competing in this competition, New Zealand has landed in Group B alongside Mexico, Montenegro and Mozambique - with all games set to be played in Mexico City, Mexico from 19-25 August.

The top two teams from each group will qualify for the Semi-Finals of each tournament, with the two winners of each tournament both qualifying for the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup Qualifying Tournaments in 2026 alongside 22 other countries.

16 nations in total will punch their tickets through the Qualifying Tournaments in 2026 and compete at the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026 – the pinnacle event for women’s basketball.

This will be the first time that the 2degrees Tall Ferns have played in Mexico, and BBNZ General Manager High Performance, Paul Downes says it will be an exciting challenge for the team as it transitions into a new era.

“This will be our first FIBA tournament without head coach Guy Molloy at the helm, so we’ll look to work hard and play to our strengths to secure a ticket to the World Cup Qualifying Tournament in 2026,” says Downes.

“We know that Mexico in particular will be a challenging opponent, as they will have a passionate crowd behind them, but we have a young and talented core of athletes in our programme who are up for this challenge – they know how important this tournament is for our World Cup ambitions.”

The Tall Ferns will announce their squad of 12 for this FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026 Pre-Qualifying Tournament in the coming months.

FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026 Pre-Qualifying Tournaments - Draw Results

Group A (Mexico): Korea, Mali, Czechia, Venezuela

Group B: (Mexico): Mexico, Montenegro, New Zealand, Mozambique

Group C: (Rwanda): Brazil, Hungary, Senegal, Philippines

Group D: (Rwanda): Rwanda, Great Britain, Argentina, Lebanon