FIBA approves new rule allowing basketball players to cover their heads

The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) approved on Thursday a new rule that will allow basketball players to cover their heads according to their religious beliefs, and fans around the world believe that this decision will attract more people to the sport.

The rule will come into effect on October 1, explained FIBA, based in Switzerland, in a statement.

Starting then, athletes will be able to wear hijabs, turbans, and kippahs, after a 20-year ban imposed for safety reasons.

In 2014, FIBA approved a two-year trial period to allow players to cover their heads.

"I believe this is a good step, for FIBA to leave this matter behind and move forward from this moment," said USA Basketball's CEO Jim Tooley, who is on FIBA's executive committee.

Shadi Abdolvand, player for the Iranian national basketball team, said that basketball will change in Iran because young players will be encouraged to "achieve their goals".

"At the end of this month, there is a West Asian tournament and we were waiting for them to tell us that we can participate," he said. The team's dream is to compete against the best players in the world and "see if we can improve much more", he emphasized.

The garments allowed by the rule must meet the following conditions: they must be black, white or the same dominant color as the team's uniform; they cannot cover the face wholly or partially; and they cannot have "opening/closing elements on the face and/or neck".

The articles also cannot have "parts that protrude from their surface," said the federation.

Efforts to pressure FIBA to change its regulations date back several years. Changes have already been made to these regulations in football and other sports.

Athlete Ally, an organization dedicated to ending homophobia and transphobia in sports and educating athletic communities to fight against discrimination, and Shirzanan, an intermediary and media organization for Muslim athletes, sent a letter to FIBA on January 25, urging leaders to "immediately lift the ban on the use of Muslim headwear." The letter was signed by many WNBA players, including the Rookie of the Year Breanna Stewart.