Baku 2015 European Games can today confirm the 16 men’s and 16 women’s teams that will compete at next year’s inaugural event, Baku 2015 European Games Operations Committee told.

As host nation, Azerbaijan will be represented in both competitions, while Ireland’s women’s team have made history by securing their country’s first ever qualification for a major multi-sport event in Basketball.

In ranked order, the men’s competition will be contested by Romania, Slovenia, Lithuania, Greece, Serbia, Belgium, Spain, Estonia, Israel, Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Italy and Andorra.

And also in ranked order, the women’s competition will see Russia, Slovenia, Belgium, the Netherlands, Lithuania, Romania, Turkey, Switzerland, Ukraine, Spain, Ireland, Czech Republic, Israel, Greece, Slovakia and Azerbaijan going for gold.

“As we continue to count down the days until the beginning of the inaugural European Games, it is an exciting moment to be able to confirm participating nations and teams for the sports,” Mr Simon Clegg, Chief Operating Officer of Baku 2015, said.

“I would like to congratulate all of the athletes who have now guaranteed their country’s participation in Basketball 3x3 at Baku 2015, and we look forward to welcoming them to the Games next year,” he said.

The Basketball 3x3 tournaments will take place over four days of competition at the temporary Basketball Arena, which will have capacity seating for 2,000 spectators.

The game is played on a half-court between two teams and is estimated to be enjoyed by more than 250 million players worldwide.

“As one of the new and innovative sports included in our programme, there will be a huge amount of interest in Basketball 3x3 and competition will be intense for the right to be called the first ever European Games champions,” Mr Pierce O’Callaghan, Director of Sport at Baku 2015, said.

“The sport is one of the fastest growing in the world, so we expect crowds to be thrilled by the action when the European Games gets underway,” he said.

Baku 2015 is the first ever European Games, an exciting and innovative multi-sport event for the continent which will take place from 12 – 28 June 2015.

There will be a total of 20 sports at Baku 2015: 16 Olympic sports and four non-Olympic sports. More than 6,000 athletes from across Europe will be representing their nations over 17 days of competition.

Nine of the sports will offer qualification opportunities for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. Those sports include Archery, Athletics, Cycling, Shooting, Swimming, Table Tennis, Taekwondo, Triathlon and Volleyball.

Baku was awarded the Games by the European Olympic Committees (EOC) in December 2012. The Baku European Games Operations Committee (BEGOC) will organise and run the Games in co-operation with the EOC.