Ireland’s men’s basketball team will face North Macedonia, Luxembourg and Azerbaijan in Group A of the FIBA EuroBasket 2029 Pre-Qualifiers, following Monday’s draw in Riga, Latvia.
The campaign begins with a trip to Luxembourg on Thursday, November 27th, before Ireland welcome top seeds North Macedonia to the National Basketball Arena three days later, on November 30th.
There will be two more big dates at home in February and March of 2026.
The games will mark the first competitive fixtures under new Head Coach Michael Bree, who was appointed in July.
Ireland, seeded second in the group, will renew acquaintances with familiar opponents. They faced Azerbaijan twice during the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 Pre-Qualifiers, winning 91-67 at home in November 2024 and 79-64 in Baku last February to finish second in their pool with a 3-3 record.
Luxembourg are also well known to Irish supporters. In the EuroBasket 2025 Pre-Qualifiers, Ireland recorded a 96-76 away win in July 2023, before edging a thrilling 79-76 victory in Dublin ten days later.
“We are looking forward to competing in the upcoming FIBA EuroBasket pre-qualifying games,” said Bree.
“It will be an excellent opportunity to test ourselves against quality competition in Europe. I am excited to finally get the group together and begin preparations.”
Ireland warmed up for this new campaign with two friendlies against Norway in July. Bree’s backroom team oversaw those games, with Norway taking the opener 87-79 before Ireland responded with an 82-77 win at the National Basketball Arena.
FIBA EuroBasket 2029 Pre-Qualifiers – Group A Fixtures
Thursday, 27th November 2025 – Luxembourg v Ireland
Sunday, 30th November 2025 – Ireland v North Macedonia (National Basketball Arena)
Friday, 27th February 2026 – Ireland v Azerbaijan (National Basketball Arena)
Monday, 2nd March 2026 – Ireland v Luxembourg (National Basketball Arena)
Thursday, 2nd July 2026 – North Macedonia v Ireland
Sunday, 5th July 2026 – Azerbaijan v Ireland
Image Credit Basketball Ireland
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