International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) has announced the name of 12 participating teams at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

Following the conclusion of the 2020 Afro Paralympic Qualifiers, the line-up for the men’s and women’s wheelchair basketball competition has been finalized.

Algeria men’s and women’s teams both won the 2020 Afro Paralympic Qualifiers in Johannesburg to complete the field.

In the men’s competition, 12 teams will be drawn into two groups of six, playing in a round robin in the preliminary stage with the top four in each group making their way through to the quarter-finals, followed by the semi-finals and final.

First to qualify for the men’s competition were the U.S., Canada, and Colombia from the Lima 2019 Parapan American Games. The European Zone were next with Great Britain, Spain, Turkey, and Germany securing their ticket. In the Asia Oceania Zone, Australia, Korea, and Iran are joined by hosts Japan, with Algeria taking the final spot, IWBF reported.

A total of 10 teams will compete in the women’s competition, split across two groups of five. They will play a round-robin in the preliminary stage to decide the top four placings in each group followed by quarter-finals, semi-finals and final.

World Champions Netherlands were first to secure their place at the Paralympic Games at the Women’s European Championships alongside Great Britain, Germany, and Spain. Canada and the U.S. were next to confirm their spots coming first and second respectively at the Lima 2019 Parapan American Games. China and Australia topped the Asia Oceania Championships to join hosts Japan.

Finally, it was Algeria who claimed the last spot from the Afro Paralympic Qualifiers.

The groups will be drawn on March 22 in Tokyo, Japan by representatives from the Japanese Wheelchair Basketball Federation and the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation.

Due to concerns surrounding the transmission of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) attendance at the draw will be limited, and it will not be open to any external guests, team representatives or media, but the draw will be streamed online with live updates via IWBF’s and JWBF’s social media channels. / T.T/