Kosovo became last Friday the 215th member of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), which has granted the Balkan republic full membership after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) had done so in December. Kosovo teams will start participating in FIBA ​​tournaments as of summer 2015.

Kosovo declared independence from Serbia in 2008. Serbia does not recognize its independence, and Kosovo is not a member of the United Nations.

The Basketball Federation of Serbia has called FIBA ​​to ensure that no Serbian team will be scheduled to play against a Kosovar team.

Some 20 non-UN member territories enjoy full FIBA membership. The most notable case is that of Puerto Rico, which has a quite competitive basketball team that usually participates in the World Cup. Other cases include Gibraltar, American Samoa, Aruba, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Tahiti, just to name a few.

A curious case is that of England, Scotland and Wales, who have separate FIBA membership put flag members of FIBA ​​separately but who compete under a joint British team.