FIBA’s Patrick Baumann: ‘Choosing four wild cards was not simple’ - Watch the interview
FIBA President Bob Elphinston: ‘Wild card teams strengthen field’ - Watch the interview

ISTANBUL, Turkey (FIBA World Championship) - During today's meeting of the FIBA Central Board - the highest executive body of the International Basketball Federation - the following teams were awarded wild card entries to next year's FIBA World Championship in Turkey:

• Germany
• Lebanon
• Lithuania
• Russia

The decisions were made in accordance with the criteria outlined by the FIBA Central Board. The wild card system was first introduced for the 2006 FIBA World Championship in Japan, following the decision to increase the number of teams from 16 to 24.
 
With the four wild cards joining the 20 qualified teams, the following teams go into the hat for the draw that will take place on Tuesday 15th December (11:30AM local time / 10:30AM CET) in Istanbul:

For last minute accreditation for the draw, please contact the Turkish Basketball Federation at sancars@tbf.org.tr.
 
The draw will be covered live on turkey2010.fiba.com.

The 2010 FIBA World Championship will be played in Turkey in the cities of Ankara, Kayseri, Istanbul and Izmir between 28th August and 12th September 2010.
 
About FIBA
 
FIBA (www.fiba.com), the world governing body for basketball, is an independent association formed by 213 National Basketball Federations throughout the world. It is recognised as the sole competent authority in basketball by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Its main upcoming events are the 2010 FIBA World Championships for Men and Women, to take place in Turkey and in the Czech Republic respectively. This summer, the 2009 Continental Championships determined the champions of each continent and also determined the teams from each continent that qualified automatically for Turkey and the Czech Republic.