FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026 in Berlin: A Local Guide for Fans

This September, Berlin becomes the center of women's basketball. The FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2026 runs from September 4 to 13, and for ten days the sixteen best national teams in the world play here for the title.

I am not going to pretend to break down every roster for you. There are better basketball sites for that. What I can do, as someone who walks this city for a living, is tell you the part most fans actually need: where the arenas are, how to get to them, how the tickets work, and what to do with Berlin in the hours when you are not watching a game.

And there is one detail almost no one mentions that I cannot resist telling you up front: both arenas sit directly on the old line of the Berlin Wall. You will be cheering on the exact ground where the city was split for 28 years. More on that below.

The basics: dates, teams, and format

The tournament runs from September 4 to 13, 2026. Sixteen teams were drawn into four groups of four:

• Group A: Germany (the hosts), Japan, Spain, Mali

• Group B: France, Hungary, South Korea, Nigeria

• Group C: Australia, Belgium, Puerto Rico, Türkiye

• Group D: United States, China, Czechia, Italy

The group games run from September 4 to 7. The Qualification to Quarter-Finals round follows on September 8, then the quarter-finals, semi-finals, and the final and bronze-medal game on the closing weekend of September 12 and 13.

The names highlighted by the organisers include A'ja Wilson with the United States, Leonie Fiebich for the host nation Germany, and Emma Meesseman for Belgium. Final rosters can still change, but those are the kind of players casual fans should know before they arrive.

If you are following a specific team, two notes. Germany, as hosts, are the emotional center of the tournament and the hardest tickets to get. And Türkiye are in Group C alongside Australia, Belgium, and Puerto Rico, so Turkish fans have a clear set of dates to plan around.

Here is the full group-stage schedule with official Berlin tip-off times. Filter it by group, by any team, or by venue, and check the knockout calendar through to the final.

The two arenas, and how to get to each

The games are split between two venues. This matters, because they are in different parts of the city, and you do not want to show up at the wrong one.

Berlin Arena (the Uber Arena)

This is the main venue: Berlin's largest indoor arena, holding around 14,000 people. It hosts 12 group-stage games and every final-phase game, including the final. If you are buying tickets for the business end of the tournament, this is where you are going.

The official tournament name is "Berlin Arena," but locals know it as the Uber Arena (you may also see its old name, the Mercedes-Benz Arena). It sits in Friedrichshain, by the river, in an entertainment district with the cinema, restaurants, and bars of the Mercedes Platz square right next to it.

Getting there is easy:

• S+U Warschauer Straße is about a 5-minute walk, connected to the arena by a pedestrian bridge. It is served by the U1 and U3, the S3, S5, S7, and S9, and trams M10 and M13.

• Ostbahnhof is about a 12-minute walk and is also a regional and long-distance train station.

• On Friday and Saturday nights the U-Bahn and S-Bahn run all night, so late games are not a problem.

Max-Schmeling-Halle

The second venue holds around 9,000 and hosts 12 group-stage games. It sits in Prenzlauer Berg, inside the green Friedrich-Ludwig-Jahn-Sportpark, in one of the most pleasant residential neighborhoods in the city.

To get there:

• U2 to Eberswalder Straße is the simplest route. From there it is a short walk.

• S+U Schönhauser Allee also works, served by the U2, the S8 and S85, and the S41/S42 ring line.

• The hall has no visitor parking on purpose. Come by public transport or bike.

One small local tip: the Max-Schmeling-Halle is a 5-minute walk from the U2 at Eberswalder Straße, which is the same line that runs through Alexanderplatz. So from the center it is genuinely a short, direct hop.

Here are both arenas on the map, with the nearest U-Bahn, the walking-tour start at Alexanderplatz, and the Berlin Wall site that sits right beside each one. Tap any pin for the local detail.

How the tickets work

Tickets are sold through Eventim, the official ticketing platform. A few things are worth knowing before you buy, because the system is not the usual one-ticket-one-game setup:

• The smallest unit is a session ticket, and a session covers two games, not one. You cannot buy a ticket for a single isolated game.

• You can also buy day tickets, team tickets (follow one team through the group stage), Premium tickets, and VIP tickets, subject to availability.

• Prices run in categories 1 to 5, depending on the seat, the day, and how full the game is expected to be.

• Discounted and accessible tickets are available at every venue on every match day.

If your seats are not yet decided, the safe move is to book early for anything involving Germany or the United States, and for the final weekend, because those will go first.

The part I love: you are watching on top of the Berlin Wall

Here is the thing I tell every visitor who comes for this tournament. Both arenas sit on the death strip of the Berlin Wall.

The Uber Arena is a two-minute walk from the East Side Gallery, the longest surviving stretch of the Berlin Wall, now painted by artists from all over the world. The Wall ran right along the river here. For decades this was a guarded no-go zone. Now it is an arena, a riverside promenade, and a World Cup.

The Max-Schmeling-Halle sits beside the Mauerpark, whose name literally means "Wall Park." It was part of the border strip too. Today it is one of Berlin's best-loved parks, with a huge Sunday flea market and an open-air karaoke session in the summer that draws thousands.

This is why I think Berlin is such a fitting host. You come for the basketball, and you end up standing on one of the most important borders of the 20th century. If you want the full story before you go, my guide to where the Berlin Wall stood and what is left in 2026 is a good place to start, and the interactive map of East and West Berlin shows you exactly how the line ran.

What to do between games

The smart thing about this tournament for a traveler is the timing. The sessions run from around midday into the evening, which means most days you have either a free morning or a full free day. That is exactly the window Berlin is built for.

Here is how I would use it.

Start with the city's core on foot. Both arenas are a short ride from Alexanderplatz, which is where my free walking tour begins, at the World Clock. In about two hours you walk through the medieval origin of Berlin, the TV Tower, the Rotes Rathaus, the real path of the Berlin Wall, and Museum Island, and finish at Hackescher Markt. You can do the morning walk and still be at the arena in time for tip-off, or use a rest day for it without rushing. The full 12-stop route is here if you want to see what you would cover.

Build the rest of the day around the arena you are visiting.

• Near the Uber Arena: walk the East Side Gallery, follow the river, and explore Friedrichshain, one of the most energetic parts of the city for food and nightlife.

• Near the Max-Schmeling-Halle: spend time in Prenzlauer Berg, all leafy streets, cafes, and old courtyards, and the Mauerpark. If your game falls on a Sunday, the Mauerpark flea market and karaoke are right there.

If you have more time, my Berlin in 3 days itinerary gives you a tested structure, and my guide to free things to do in Berlin helps stretch the budget between tickets.

Practical Berlin for World Cup visitors

A few things that will make the trip smoother, especially if it is your first time in the city.

Transport. Berlin runs on one shared ticket across the U-Bahn, S-Bahn, tram, and bus. Both arenas are inside the central AB zone. If you are riding several times a day, a day ticket usually pays off. My Berlin public transport guide explains the zones and the tickets, and if you buy a paper ticket, remember to validate it before you ride.

Arriving. If you land at BER, my airport to Alexanderplatz guide gets you into the center cheaply. From Alexanderplatz, both arenas are a short ride.

The weather and the wider month. Early September in Berlin is usually mild and good for walking, but evenings cool down, so pack a layer. The tournament also overlaps with a busy cultural week in the city, so book accommodation early. I cover all of it in my guide to Berlin in September 2026.

Where to eat. If your day starts or ends at Alexanderplatz, do not just eat at the first tourist spot you see. My guide to eating near Alexanderplatz without getting ripped off points you to the better, fairer options.

My honest take

Most people will come to Berlin for the basketball and treat the city as a backdrop. That is a missed trip.

You are in one of the most layered cities in Europe, watching a World Cup on ground that was a guarded border within living memory. The games give you the reason to be here. The free hours around them are the chance to actually understand where you are standing.

Walk the city in the morning. Watch the world's best in the afternoon. That is a very good way to spend a few days in Berlin.

Image credits

Hero image generated with ChatGPT/OpenAI for BerlinWalk and optimized for the article cover. Max-Schmeling-Halle by Ansgar Koreng (CC BY 4.0); resized and optimized for BerlinWalk. East Side Gallery,_East_Side_Gallery_--_2021_--_9490.jpg) by © Anil Öztas (CC BY-SA 4.0); resized and optimized for BerlinWalk.

Official FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup Germany 2026 logo used for editorial identification; all FIBA marks belong to FIBA.