England teams qualify for Glasgow 2026 after Euro 3x3 Wheelchair Basketball wins
Reigning Commonwealth bronze medallists England secured places in the women’s and men’s Glasgow 2026 3x3 Wheelchair Basketball competition by winning their respective finals at the European Zonal Qualifier in Nottingham.
They join Scotland, who were guaranteed places at Glasgow 2026 by virtue of being the host nation for the 23rd edition of the multi-sport Commonwealth Games, which will take place between 23 July to 2 August.
England’s men topped the pool phase, to secure a tie against fourth-ranked Cyprus, who were making their international debut in the sport, in the semi-final stage.
After easing through that encounter 21-2, they faced Wales, who had earlier pulled off something of a surprise result by defeating Birmingham 2022 qualifiers Northern Ireland 14-9 in the other semi-final.
England, which featured Paris 2022 Paralympic Games silver medallist Peter Cusack among their four-strong team, had earlier defeated their Northern Irish opponents 21-9 in the first game of the day.
While the visitors fought hard once more, they were ultimately unable to deny the English a place at Glasgow 2026, with the Birmingham 2022 bronze medallists easing to a 21-6 victory.
“I’m very emotional and almost speechless about what we’ve achieved today but it’s just amazing,” said England’s James Hazell.
Team-mate Oscar Knight added; “This (result) is what we prepared for so the overriding feeling now is one of excitement. We’ve really come together as a group to get the result that we wanted and qualify for Glasgow.”
The women’s contest featured a three-strong line-up of England, Northern Ireland and Wales; the latter two nations aiming to make history and qualifying for the Commonwealth Games Wheelchair Basketball discipline for the first time in history.
They nearly pulled off the perfect start in an enthralling opening contest against Northern Ireland, but they would eventually run out 9-7 winners.
With both losing to England they would again go head-to-head in the solo semi-final for a place against the 2022 Commonwealth bronze medallists and top-ranked side. Wales gained revenge for their earlier defeat with an impressive 10-8 success.
The experienced England side, featuring legendary ParalympicsGB 5x5 Wheelchair Basketballer Helen Freeman, proved too strong for their opponents in the final though, running out 13-4 winners.
“I’m just super-hyped, as this will be my second Commonwealth Games and I’m so excited to be going to Glasgow as it’s almost another home Games,” said England’s Birmingham 2022 bronze medallist Jade Atkin.
“Birmingham was amazing as they mixed the able-bodied teams and the wheelchair basketball teams together and it brought in loads of people from across both communities to support one another and it was just such an amazing vibe, which I’m sure we’re going to have again this summer.”
In addition to Scotland, men’s European Zonal Qualifier winners England now join South Africa, Malaysia, Australia and Canada at Glasgow 2026.
On the women’s side, England will line-up with host Scotland, together with Nigeria, India and Canada.
The final two Bipartite Invitational places, or ‘wildcards’ for each gender will be awarded through a selection process involving both the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) and Commonwealth Sport before the end of April.
Their decision will be based on factors such as regional representation, previous performances and participation in Commonwealth Sport development programmes.
The Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games will run from 23 July to 2 August with the 3x3 Wheelchair Basketball competition taking place 24-29 July. To find out how you can purchase tickets to the watch some of the best players on the planet, CLICK HERE.
