Libya men's national basketball team

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.

Libya

FIBA ranking	92 1 (3 March 2026)
Joined FIBA	1961
FIBA zone	FIBA Africa
National federation	Libya Arab Basketball Federation
Coach	Ahmed Marei
FIBA Africa Championship
Appearances	5
Home Away
Biggest defeat
Libya 52–115 South Sudan (Moçâmedes, Angola; 14 August 2025)

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

Year	Round	Position	GP	W	L
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 round	16th	3	0	3
Total			24	5	19

Pan Arab Games

See also: Basketball at the Pan Arab Games

• 2004:

Mediterranean Games

See also: Basketball at the Mediterranean Games

Never participated

Beginning with the 2018 event, regular basketball was replaced by 3x3 basketball.

Islamic Solidarity Games

See also: Basketball at the Islamic Solidarity Games

• 2005 – 11th
• 2013 – Did not participate

Beginning with the 2017 event, regular basketball was replaced by 3x3 basketball.

Arab Nations Cup

See also: Arab Nations Cup (basketball)

• 1978-2005 – ?
• 2007 – Quarterfinals
• 2008 – First round
• 2009 – Quarterfinals
• 2011-2018 – Did not participate

Team

Current roster

Team for the 2025 FIBA AfroBasket.

Libya national basketball team roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club Ctr. SG 2 Ali Madi 26 – (1999-02-17)17 February 1999 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) Al Ittihad Tripoli G 5 Naseim Badrush 26 – (1998-10-13)13 October 1998 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) Al Ahli Tripoli F 8 Adrees Zeew 25 – (2000-05-10)10 May 2000 1.98 m (6 ft 6 in) Al Ahli Benghazi PF 9 Sofian Hamad (C) 26 – (1998-10-16)16 October 1998 2.01 m (6 ft 7 in) Al Ahli Benghazi C 11 Abdulgader Rezg 28 – (1997-01-28)28 January 1997 2.10 m (6 ft 11 in) Al Ittihad Tripoli F 14 Abdulajabar Aboufardah 24 – (2000-12-01)1 December 2000 1.93 m (6 ft 4 in) Al Ahli Tripoli PF 15 Wajdi Dawo 36 – (1988-10-29)29 October 1988 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) Al Ahli Tripoli PF 23 Ghayth Almaghribi 26 – (1999-01-25)25 January 1999 2.04 m (6 ft 8 in) Al Ahli Benghazi PG 30 Mahmoud Benalhaj 34 – (1991-01-25)25 January 1991 1.89 m (6 ft 2 in) Al Ahli Tripoli G 31 Ali Arheemah 22 – (2003-03-03)3 March 2003 1.87 m (6 ft 2 in) Al Ittihad Tripoli PG 98 Ahmed Algharabi 27 – (1998-06-12)12 June 1998 1.85 m (6 ft 1 in) Al Ahli Benghazi F 99 Mohamed Buzgaiya 26 – (1999-01-17)17 January 1999 1.99 m (6 ft 6 in) Al-Nasr SC	Head coach Sam Vincent Assistant coach(es) Nabil Kabalan Dean Murray Legend (C) Team captain Club – describes last club before the tournament Age – describes age on 12 August 2025

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 men's national basketball team roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club Ctr. 4 Abdulaziz Sudani 35 – (1980-01-01)1 January 1980 5 Mahmoud Abdalla Benalhaj 24 – (1991-01-25)25 January 1991 6 Tarek A. Farag Al Beigow 22 – (1993-01-14)14 January 1993 7 Nadir Ayad 31 – (1984-05-01)1 May 1984 Al-Ahly SC (Benghazi) 8 Otman A. Otman Sedek 27 – (1988-06-13)13 June 1988 9 Eslam Ibrahim El Karbal 32 – (1983-05-21)21 May 1983 10 Milad Mohamed 27 – (1988-04-15)15 April 1988 Al-Ahly SC (Benghazi) 11 Eslam Ibrahim El Karbal 32 – (1983-05-21)21 May 1983 12 Omar Abdel Raman O. Derfeili 18 – (1997-03-02)2 March 1997 13 Anis Zaid Ali Elmansouri 20 – (1995-01-04)4 January 1995 14 Abdalla Shalabi 24 – (1991-01-11)11 January 1991 Al-Wahda SC (Tripoli) 15 Wajdi Omran Saied Dawo 26 – (1988-10-29)29 October 1988	Head coach Assistant coaches Legend Club – describes last club before the tournament Age – describes age on 19 August 2015

Team for the 2009 FIBA Africa Championship.

Libya national basketball team roster
Players	Coaches
Pos. No. Name Age – Date of birth Height Club Ctr. F/C 4 Raed El-Hamali 29 – (1979-08-08)8 August 1979 2.04 m (6 ft 8 in) Al Wasl G 5 Mohamed Youssif Kuneidir 23 – (1986-01-10)10 January 1986 Al-Ahly G 6 Mohamed Issa Mrsal 31 – (1978-01-01)1 January 1978 F/C 7 Hesham Ali Salem 25 – (1984-05-13)13 May 1984 2.06 m (6 ft 9 in) La Guaira BBC 8 Mohamed Moftah Abu-Khir 22 – (1987-03-04)4 March 1987 Al Ittihad 9 Khaled Saad Matrud 19 – (1989-11-09)9 November 1989 C 10 Yahya Shakmak 24 – (1985-01-01)1 January 1985 Al Nasr Benghazi 12 Alamien Mohamed Yagoub 28 – (1981-03-01)1 March 1981 13 Mohamed Abdallah Belhaj 24 – (1985-07-25)25 July 1985 14 Wajdi Omran Dawo 20 – (1988-10-29)29 October 1988 G/F 15 Al-Fath Belgasem 29 – (1980-02-04)4 February 1980 1.97 m (6 ft 6 in) Bakersfield Jam	Head coach Kevin Nickelberry Assistant coach(es) Osman Bangora Legend (C) Team captain nat field describes country of last club before the tournament Age field is age on 5 August 2009

Kit

Manufacturer

2009: Nike

See also

• Libya national under-19 basketball team
• Eslam El Karbal
• Suleiman Ali Nashnush

External links

• FIBA profile
• Libya Basketball Records at FIBA Archive Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine