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17 February 2026  4 min read

Support England, Play Basketball: GameTime back for Glasgow 2026

Its message to English basketball fans: 

• Support England  

• Play basketball 

With less than six months to go until the Games, which runs from 23 July to 2 August, the campaign seeks to harness support for the English 3x3 basketball teams, who are on a double-medal mission, seeking to replicate the history made four years ago at Birmingham 2022 when England won gold and silver, and to encourage and inspire more people to play basketball.  

England won gold and silver in the men's and women's 3x3 competitions respectively at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games

3x3 to take centre stage in Glasgow   

The 3x3 Basketball and 3x3 Wheelchair Basketball tournaments will take centre stage in Glasgow at the Scottish Exhibition Campus from 24 July to 29 July.  

The number of men's and women's teams competing in the running and wheelchair basketball competitions has increased from eight to 12, which means that there are three additional sessions across the six days of basketball competition.  

England’s first test, however, will be qualification.  

At the Birmingham Games, England benefitted from a host spot; this time they will compete in a Home Nations qualification tournament in May with hopes of punching their tickets to Glasgow.   

Countries already confirmed to compete in the men’s competition are Scotland, Fiji, Nigeria, Singapore, Cayman Islands, Jamaica, New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia and Guyana.  

In the women’s it's Scotland, Fiji, Kenya, Uganda, Singapore, Cayman Islands, Jamaica, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Tonga. 

BE Interim CEO Nigel Walker said:  

“It’s fantastic to be launching GameTime for Glasgow 2026, galvanising English basketball fans to get behind the country and its players ahead of the Games.  

“The scenes from four years ago were truly monumental for our sport, with the players’ exploits living long in our memories. It was a golden summer and did much to capture the hearts and minds of many, converting them into fans and players of basketball.  

“As the energy and the interest builds around Glasgow, through GameTime we will create and capture the stories that matter; bringing you closer to magnificent 3x3 performances on the big stage, to the players and to the possibility of further medal success – inspiring more people to enjoy and play basketball along-the-way.”  

Julius Joseph MBE (left) and Sarah Hopkins-Chery have been named as the head coaches for the 3x3 teams preparing to compete in Glasgow

Joseph MBE and Hopkins-Chery at the wheel 

Julius Joseph MBE and Sarah Hopkins-Chery have been selected by Basketball England to lead the England men’s and women’s 3x3 campaigns. 

3x3 specialist Joseph – dubbed ‘Sensei’ by his players for his skill at teaching the short-format of the game – was an obvious candidate for the head coaching role, having masterminded England’s historic 3x3 title at Birmingham 2022.

Hopkins-Chery has been working with GB squads over the last couple of summers, leading the U23 3x3 women’s team in the FIBA 3x3 Nations League in Hungary and Poland, as well as coaching with GB U18 and U20 5v5 women’s teams – the latter as head coach during the FIBA U20 Women’s EuroBasket competition. 

England women overcame gold-medal favourites Australia 21-15 in the semi-finals of the 3x3 competition in Birmingham to guarantee themselves a silver medal

Glory on the show court  

At Birmingham 2022, Team England won gold and silver in the Commonwealth Games 3x3 Finals, with the men’s team of Myles Hesson, Kayne Henry, Jamell Anderson and Orlan Jackman triumphant against Australia and the women’s team of Chantelle Handy, Hannah Jump, Cheridene Green and Shanice Beckford-Norton finishing as silver medallists in a nail-biting one-point loss to Canada. 

Under the GameTime campaign, BE captured and highlighted the journey of preparation and squad selection, culminating in glory on the show court at the Smithfield Arena, Birmingham.  

English basketball teams have pedigree in the Commonwealth Games having also won 5v5 silver and double-bronze medals at the 2018 Gold Coast and 2006 Melbourne Games, respectively.  

BE is encouraging basketball fans to visit the Team England hub on the Basketball England website to find out more about Team England basketball at the Commonwealth Games. 

Team England

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