First summer youth Olympics for U18 women

Basketball Fiji under 18 women’s 3x3 team is geared up for their first Summer Youth Olympic Games to be held at Dakar, Senegal from October 31 to November 13, 2026.

Basketball Fiji chief operation officer William Peter said the side’s participation was long overdue.

“Team preparations will start soon. We have named the training squad and will be informing all athletes and parents of the programme shortly,” Peter said.

“It is a great step for them and to play at the Olympic stage is great for the athletes and the federation - a testament to the years of hard work to finally reach this far.

“The inclusion of our women’s U18 team was due to the hard work of our 3x3 programme.

“3x3 is based on rankings and our women’s team are in the Youth Olympic Games due to a good ranking. This has been possible with the support and hard work of those behind the scenes.

“This includes the running of the 3x3 matches locally and organizing the national 3x3 side that competed at the Pacific Mini Games last year. We are there because of all these factors,” he said.

Peter said as usual they wanted to compete and be competitive on the world stage. It is new for them, breaking into the world, they want to be competitive with other countries.

“We have identified the best girls that will vying for a spot at the YOG. They are all brilliantly talented girls that all deserve recognition,” he said.

He said, besides competing for this year’s Summer Youth Olympic Games, they are aiming to feature at the 3X3 basketball Summer Olympics in Brisbane.

“Long-term in short is to compete in 3x3 basketball at the summer Olympics in Brisbane 2032,” he said.