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The 16 teams that will compete in the men's competition of the 2026 IWBF World Championship, in Ottawa, Canada, are now defined. Last Thursday (11 June), the final four countries to secure their places were Iran, Brazil, Poland and the Netherlands, who qualified after winning the eliminatory round of the Repechage Tournament in Suphan Buri, Thailand.
These four teams join the other 12 nations that had already secured their berths via zonal championships: Great Britain, Italy, Germany, Spain and Turkey, from Europe; United States, Argentina and Colombia, from the Americas; Australia and Japan, from Asia/Oceania; and Morocco from Africa.
To secure a place at the World Championship, Iran, Brazil, Poland and the Netherlands, who had not achieved qualification through their continental competitions, received a second chance during the 2026 IWBF Men's Repechage, held between 8 and 11 June at the Suphan Buri Indoor Stadium.
Alongside the four teams, also competing were Korea, Senegal and the hosts, Thailand – Venezuela, who were initially scheduled to take part in the tournament, withdrew due to financial reasons. As a result, Iran, who were the leader of Group B in the first phase of the Repechage Tournament, secured their World Championship qualification without needing to play the eliminatory round.
The remaining three spots, on the other hand, were decided in thrilling matchups. Brazil, third-placed in Group B, secured their qualification by beating Korea, second-placed in Group A, 75–67, in the most exciting match of the day.
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Poland, second-placed in Group B, defeated Thailand, third-placed in Group A, 59–48, ensuring their return to the main stage of wheelchair basketball after being absent from the last World Championship edition, in 2022. Meanwhile, the Netherlands, leaders of Group A, gave no chance to Senegal, fourth in Group B, comfortably beating the africans 91–40.
Rewatch all matches on the IWBF YouTube Channel, with live statistics, results, standings and game reports available throughout the tournament - click here for more.
Brazilian MVP
A standout for the Brazilian team during their campaign at the 2026 IWBF Men's Repechage, Cristiano Clemente, a 4.0-class athlete, was chosen as the competition's MVP.
Brazil's number 7 led the tournament in points per game, averaging 30 per match, more than eight points ahead of the second-highest scorer, Iran's Mahdi Abbasi, who recorded 21.7 points per game. Clemente also led the steals statistics, averaging 3.8 per game, and contributed 9.3 rebounds and 5.8 assists.
In the match against Korea, that decided the spot in Brazil's favour, Clemente left the court with numbers worthy of a star. He recorded 29 points, 15 rebounds and 8 assists for the number 7, who was a central piece in Brazil's triumph and qualification on Thai land.
The Repechage Tournament
After adopting the qualification format for Paris 2024, the IWBF introduced the Repechage Tournament this year for the first time as a second chance for countries to pursue a place at the World Championship. The new qualification structure creates additional meaningful opportunities for teams to earn their place on the court while helping ensure the strongest and most representative field possible for the sport's flagship competition.
Originally scheduled to feature eight teams, the 2026 IWBF Men’s Repechage were contested by seven nations following the late withdrawal of Venezuela. In Group A, hosts Thailand, Korea and the Netherlands competed alongside Venezuela's scheduled fixtures, which were recorded as 20–0 forfeit victories for their opponents. Group B consisted of Brazil, Iran, Poland and Senegal.
During the group phase, teams played a single round-robin competition within their respective groups. At the conclusion of the preliminary round, the first-placed team from one group faced the fourth-placed team from the other group, while the second-placed team met the third-placed team from the opposite group. The winners of these crossover matches secured qualification for the 2026 IWBF Men’s World Championship.
Competition Results
8 June 2026
- Senegal 24 vs 77 Iran
- Thailand 35 vs 52 Korea
- Brazil 66 vs 77 Poland
- Netherlands 20 vs 0 Venezuela (Forfeit victory)
9 June 2026
- Netherlands 72 vs 38 Thailand
- Poland 59 vs 53 Senegal
- Iran 75 vs 63 Brazil
- Korea 20 vs 0 Venezuela (Forfeit victory)
10 June 2026
- Poland 59 vs 81 Iran
- Brazil 88 vs 43 Senegal
- Korea 52 vs 64 Netherlands
- Thailand 20 vs 0 Venezuela (Forfeit victory)
11 June 2026 (Crossovers)
- Korea 67 vs 75 Brazil*
- Poland* 59 vs 48 Thailand
- Netherlands* 91 vs 40 Senegal
- Iran* 20 vs 0 Venezuela (Forfeit victory)
*Qualified to the World Championship
