Israel’s top 3x3 basketball team, Team Ramat Gan, has been excluded from a qualifying tournament in Versailles, France, after the organizer cited the team’s country of origin as the reason for their disinvitation, according to screenshots obtained by The Jerusalem Post.
The decision, which followed an initial acceptance of the team’s registration to the event, has been criticized for its apparent double standard, as a team with Russian nationals was still scheduled to compete at the start of the week.
Niv Konfino, 30, the team’s captain and manager, founded his own 3x3 team last year after falling in love with this version of the sport.
“I’m just leaving five-on-five,” he recalled telling himself. His team did so well that the Israeli Basketball Federation reached out to collaborate, merging their teams to focus on a three-year plan for Olympic qualification. The team’s entire purpose is to “garner points for Israel’s qualification toward the Olympics” and other prestigious tournaments like the European Championship.
Konfino emphasized in a discussion with the Post the importance of countries, regardless of size, having a presence in the Olympics.
“No matter what sport, to have some sort of participation in the Olympics, because it just shows how, no matter how small the country is... that we are still able to accomplish something and make it to something big.”
For FIBA, the International Basketball Federation, 3x3 has four levels of tournaments: the top two are the Masters and Challengers, which are run directly by FIBA. Below those are the Quest and Lite Quest tournaments – also called satellite tournaments – organized by local federations but connected to FIBA.
The Versailles tournament is a Lite Quest event that serves as a qualifier for the Mataro Challenger outside of Barcelona in late September. Because the team can’t participate in Versailles, they lose the chance to qualify for the Challenger and miss out on earning valuable ranking points.
These points are crucial for Israel’s European Championship and Olympic qualification prospects. Although the points-qualifying cycles haven’t started yet – as pointed out by FIBA – the ability to even play in events that will take place once the qualifying window opens is already impacted by the points that could potentially be earned in the Lite Quest De Versailles tournament.
Team Ramat Gan was slated to participate in the Lite Quest De Versailles tournament on August 30, a key qualifier for the FIBA 3x3 Challenger event near Barcelona. However, just days after their participation was confirmed, the team received a notification of cancellation.
Konfino was told by the organizer that after “discussion with the LOC [Local Organizing Committee], they took the decision to not invite teams from countries involved in political conflicts.”
Konfino expressed his disbelief at the decision.
“This was very out of the blue,” Konfino told the Post. He noted that the team had met all the criteria for participation, and a similar situation had occurred in a previous tournament in France, where they were informed they would need 24/7 police security due to planned protests. The team ended up not participating in the tournament as a result of the Israel-Iran War. However, this is the first time the team has been completely barred from competing.
The organizer’s explanation has been met with skepticism. Konfino’s research showed that a Ukrainian team had participated in the organizer’s tournament just a month and a half or two months beforehand.
Furthermore, the Amsterdam West team, which includes two Russian nationals, is still scheduled to compete. Konfino highlighted this as a clear double standard, stating: “You’re going to allow them to compete, they’re from Russia, the country that’s in a political conflict, and not allow us to.”
He added that the Russian players are collecting points that contribute to Russia’s 2028 Olympic qualification campaign, which is the same goal for Team Ramat Gan.
The team’s exclusion from the tournament means they miss out on an opportunity to compete for prize money and critical qualification points. This is compounded by the fact that the team already has a disadvantage due to its location, with flights being “one and a half times more than what they usually are” and requiring more time and preparation.
Israeli athletes targeted in international competitions
Israeli athletes have a long history of being targeted for exclusion in international competitions, often for political reasons rather than sporting merit. From the Olympic Games to smaller regional events, Israeli competitors have frequently faced boycotts, refusals to play against them, and even threats of disqualification solely based on their nationality. These actions have drawn condemnation from sports governing bodies but remain a persistent challenge for Israeli teams and athletes.
The situation has intensified since the Hamas attacks on October 7, 2023, and the ensuing war. Across multiple sports and countries, Israeli athletes have been denied entry, barred from competing, or faced last-minute cancellations, raising concerns about fairness and consistency in international sporting regulations. Advocates stress that such targeting undermines the principles of merit-based competition and penalizes athletes for political circumstances beyond their control.
Due to budget cuts from the Israeli Basketball Federation following the war, the team is actively seeking alternative funding, including a GoFundMe campaign, to continue their campaign.
“This is the discrimination against us right there,” Konfino concluded.
On the website of the tournament, site visitors can no longer see participating teams as they were able to earlier in the week, though it is unclear if the locking of the schedule is connected to the exclusion of the Israeli team.
FIBA told the Post on Thursday that “the Lite Quest De Versailles tournament is not organized by FIBA 3x3, and we have no involvement in team selection for that event.”
They added: “For clarity, only ranking points earned in official FIBA 3x3 Official Competitions and certain recognized Qualifiers and multi-sport events count toward Olympic qualification, which doesn’t include Lite Quests. Moreover, please note that the qualification cycle for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games has not started yet.”