A new four-year partnership announced between FIBA and Disney will see the upcoming 2022 and 2023 Basketball World Cups broadcast on ESPN in Australia.

All FIBA organised international events will be broadcast in Australia on ESPN, starting with the 2022 Women’s Basketball World cup in Sydney, starting in September, where ESPN will broadcast all 38 games from the tournament.

The partnership will also cover all tournament qualifiers and Continental Cups in the lead up to the 2023 Basketball World Cup in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia.

FIBA media and marketing services director general, Frank Leenders, said: “This is excellent news for sports fans in Australia.”

“With women in basketball being a strategic priority for FIBA, and specifically, the goal of increasing the number of fans consuming women’s basketball, this partnership with ESPN brings with it new synergies that will make basketball more accessible and enjoyable for Australian fans leading up to our flagship women’s event in Sydney this September,” Leenders said.

Walt Disney Company Australia and New Zealand senior vice president and managing director, Kylie Watson-Wheeler, said the addition of FIBA competitions to ESPN’s Australian broadcast offering will be welcomed by fans.

“We’re thrilled to be adding the Australian Opals and Boomers games to our comprehensive basketball lineup, which already includes the NBA, NBL, WNBA and NCAA,” Watson-Wheeler said.

“This broadcast partnership with FIBA further extends ESPN’s leading position as ‘The Home for Hoops’.

“It comes at an exciting time for local basketball fans, with the Boomers fresh from taking their first medal at the Tokyo Olympics and our iconic Australian Opals readying to compete in the Women’s World Cup on home soil in September.

“It’s terrific to see these incredible female athletes front and centre for our ESPN viewers,” she said.