Time, finances force Jamaica away for first home FIBA qualifier
Published:Friday | October 31, 2025 | 12:07 AMGregory Bryce/Staff Reporter
PAULTON GORDON, president of the Jamaica Basketball Association (JBA), said the country was unable to host its first home game in the FIBA Basketball World Cup Americas Qualifiers because of insufficient time to meet FIBA hosting standards.
The JamRockerz will be competing in the World Cup Qualifiers for the first time in the island’s history, and are drawn in Pool B alongside Canada, Puerto Rico and The Bahamas.
The island will only host two of its three home games, however, as FIBA scheduling confirmed Jamaica will play Puerto Rico in back-to-back away games to kick-start their campaign.
Following venue inspections by FIBA, Gordon said the JBA would not have been able to get the National Indoor Sports Centre (NISC) to meet FIBA standards in time for the competition’s deadline.
“We qualified in the middle of August but, typically, what FIBA does is they send their competition persons to the various countries that will host, to assess the conditions of the playing area, hotels, and all the other elements related to the home games,” he told The Gleaner.
“We did the inspection on September 19 and then they sent us a list of requirements about a week after. Typically, what they want is to clear the venue two months before the hosting, which is November 28th, and we realised that we couldn’t put all things in place in such a short turnaround.”
Gordon also confirmed there were no other venues on the island that would be able to host the games, because of FIBA standards.
He said the JBA had briefly considered other venues, including the Montego Bay Convention Centre, but concluded it would prove too costly to host games outside of the NISC.
“Certainly, we looked at other options and, well, GC Foster [College] wouldn’t have the capacity as you’d need a minimum of 2,500 seats. So the indoor centre was the only one we were really contemplating,” he explained.
“Another option would have been the Convention Centre in Montego Bay but then you have to retrofit that space with seating.”
He continued, “They have hosted the Jamaica Classics a couple of years ago and they’ve retrofitted the space with seats, which gives you a nice arena effect. But, again, the cost wouldn’t have been conducive to even consider there.”
Gordon said, after realising the National Indoor Sports Centre would not be able to host their home game, they reached out to the Puerto Rico Basketball Association (FBPUR) and reached an agreement to play both games in San Juan.
As a result, Jamaica will play Puerto Rico away on November 28 and December 1.
“With all the events that were happening, it was difficult to host the games,” he said.
“So we opted to play our first home game in Puerto Rico. Luckily, the Puerto Rico Association has agreed to host us.”
The JBA president, however, confirmed that Jamaica will be able to host its remaining home games, and will host The Bahamas on February 26 before hosting Canada on March 1.
Both games are scheduled to be played at the NISC.
The qualifiers will be played in a round-robin format, with Jamaica playing each team twice, once at home and once away.
The top three teams from the pool will advance to the second round, where they will compete for a spot at the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup.