Fiba suspends British Basketball Federation

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Basketball's world governing body Fiba has suspended the British Basketball Federation (BBF) and barred the men's team from international competition because of governance issues.

A Fiba taskforce was set up in August to investigate "regulatory non-compliance" within British basketball.

In April, the BBF awarded a 15-year licence to run a new professional men's competition - the Great Britain Basketball League - to GBB League Ltd (GBBL).

The BBF said GBBL, a consortium led by the American businessman Marshall Glickman, would provide £15m funding in the first two years.

However, the existing nine Super League Basketball [SLB] clubs claimed the tender process run by the governing body was "illegal and unjust" and refused to join the new league.

The clubs launched legal action against the BBF in the high court, while UK sports minister Stephanie Peacock reportedly asked the government body responsible for elite funding, UK Sport, to investigate the allegations.

In a statement, Fiba said it had completed a "comprehensive review of the situation, including interviews and meetings with basketball stakeholders".

Under the terms of the suspension, the BBF will not be permitted to licence or recognise national men's competitions, or field a men's national team in Fiba senior competitions.

The taskforce will now "engage directly with basketball stakeholders and the UK government to explore and propose an interim operational framework for the top-tier men's national competitions".

The statement added: "These measures aim to restore regulatory integrity and promote sustainable governance of men's basketball in Great Britain as soon as possible."

On Sunday, the BBF announced the resignation of chairman Chris Grant after three years because of "personal reasons".

BBC Sport has contacted the BBF for comment.

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