The Libyan national basketball team represents Libya in international basketball matches and is controlled by the Kurat As-Sallah al-Leebiyyah (Libyan Basketball Federation). Libya has been an official affiliate of FIBA since 1961., fiba.com, accessed 15 August 2013.
They finished 5th at the African Basketball Championship twice. The country hosted the AfroBasket 2009 event where they finished 11th, ahead of heavily favored Morocco and Mozambique.
History Libya became a member of FIBA in 1961 but has made only sporadic appearances at AfroBasket, participating in 1965, 1970, and 1978, before hosting the tournament in 2009 in Tripoli and Benghazi. As hosts, they finished 11th with a 3–4 record. The tournament that year was played at the African Union Arena (Tripoli) and Suliman Ad-Dharrath Arena (Benghazi).
Following the 2009 AfroBasket, Libya endured a prolonged absence from the continental stage until the qualifying cycle for AfroBasket 2025. In a dramatic turn in **February 2024**, they upset Morocco in the Zone 1 Pre-Qualifiers in Monastir, Tunisia—winning on aggregate to advance to the main qualification round.
In the first qualifying window, Libya posted a strong 2–1 record: earning a thrilling overtime win against Nigeria (89–82), falling narrowly to Cape Verde, and defeating Uganda (71–59).
Their qualifier campaign continued with momentum in the second window, finishing with a 4–2 record—including key wins over Cape Verde and Uganda—thereby securing their first AfroBasket qualification in 16 years. The achievement sparked widespread celebrations across Libya, particularly in Tripoli, where fans welcomed them with singing, fireworks, and national pride.
Central to this renaissance was team captain Mohamed Sadi, who etched his name into AfroBasket lore by recording the first-ever triple-double in tournament qualifying history—24 points, 12 assists, and 10 steals in the opening qualifier against Nigeria.
Libya also enjoyed regional success, capturing a silver medal at the **2023 Arab Nations Championship** in Cairo—their first final appearance in the tournament—after falling to hosts Egypt in the final.
Performance at international competitions Overall, Libya has competed in many international competitions, including the 2005 Islamic Solidarity Games, and the 2007 Pan Arab Games. The Libyan national team participated in the FIBA Africa Championship games four times, in 1965, 1970, 1978 and 2009, where they placed fifth, fifth, tenth and eleventh respectively.
Summer Olympics Yet to qualify
World championships Yet to qualify
FIBA Africa Championship YearRoundPosition 1962 Did not qualify 1964 1965 Main round 5th 5 1 4 1968 Did not qualify 1970 Fifth place 5th 3 1 2 1972 Did not qualify 1974 1975 1978 Classification stage 10th 5 0 5 1980 Did not qualify 1981 1983 1985 1987 1989 1992 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 Classification stage 11th 8 3 5 2011 Did not qualify 2013 2015 2017 2021 2025 Preliminary round16th303Total 24 5 19
Pan Arab Games
2004:
Mediterranean Games
Never participated
Beginning with the 2018 event, regular basketball was replaced by 3x3 basketball.
Islamic Solidarity Games
2005 – 11th 2013 – Did not participate Beginning with the 2017 event, regular basketball was replaced by 3x3 basketball.
Arab Nations Cup
1978-2005 – ? 2007 – Quarterfinals 2008 – First round 2009 – Quarterfinals 2011-2018 – Did not participate
Team Current roster Team for the 2025 FIBA AfroBasket.
Head coach position Samir Khatib – 1980s Ali Basyuni – 1990s Mohamed Khalil – 2000s Srđan Antić – 2007–2008 Kevin Nickelberry – 2009–2010 Srđan Antić – 2010–2011 Veselin Matić – 2013 Fouad Abou Chakra – 2024 Sam Vincent – 2025
Past rosters At the 2015 Afrobasket qualification:Libya | 2015 African Championship for Men, ARCHIVE.FIBA.COM. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
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Head coach
Assistant coaches
Legend
Club – describes lastclub before the tournament Age – describes ageon 19 August 2015
Team for the 2009 FIBA Africa Championship.Libya | 2009 FIBA Africa Championship for Men, ARCHIVE.FIBA.COM. Retrieved 22 Jan 2016.
Kit Manufacturer 2009: Nike Interbasket.net. Accessed on 25 September 2015.
See also Libya national under-19 basketball team Eslam El Karbal Suleiman Ali Nashnush
References
External links FIBA profile Libya Basketball Records at FIBA Archive