Uncertainty surrounds the Federation of International Basketball Association (FIBA) World Cup qualifier, while another has been postponed, due to security concerns linked to the Russia-Ukraine crisis.

The fate of the match between Britain and Belarus, due to be held in Minsk remains uncertain, while a match between Ukraine and Spain, due to be played in Kyiv has been postponed.

The British Basketball Federation (BBF) Board decided following an emergency meeting at the weekend that the British men’s squad would not travel to Minsk for the fixture, which was due to be played tomorrow (February 25).

The United Kingdom Government is currently advising against all but essential travel to Belarus with interim BBF chair Toni Minichiello saying: “With the news reports of growing tensions in the region, the published advice of the Home Office, and a meeting to gauge the feelings and concerns of both the players and staff, the Board decided that the team’s safety and wellbeing is the only priority.

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“We await to hear from FIBA, but hope that we will be able to play in another location or on another date if FIBA sanctions that.”

In response, Belarusian Basketball Federation executive director Anastasia Marina said: “So far, it is quite difficult to comment on the situation, since no official documents have been received from FIBA.

“Both our men’s team and the Organising Committee continue to prepare for the upcoming match in Minsk.

“We hope that sport in this situation will be higher than political ambitions, and our friends from the UK will be able to fly in and play in front of the Belarusian fans, who are looking forward to this match.

“Despite the high cost of British visas and all the peculiarities of their processing, the difficulties of any flights during the pandemic, our team did not even consider postponing this game, because we respect our opponent and we understand how important it is to play on the home arena.”