The first qualifying tournament was the 2010 FIBA World Championship for Women in which the champion was guaranteed of a place in the Olympics. Throughout the next two years, several regional tournaments served as qualification for the zonal tournaments, which doubled as continental championships, to determine which teams would participate in the 2012 London Summer Olympics.
Qualification
Outright qualification
A total of 12 teams took part in the Olympics, with each NOC potentially nominating one team. The host nation (Great Britain) qualified automatically as hosts.
There were a total of 5 zonal tournaments (doubling as continental championships) that determined the qualifying teams, with a total of 5 teams qualifying outright. Each zone was allocated with the following qualifying berths:
The additional five teams were determined at the 2012 FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Women, with the best non-qualifying teams participating from teams that did not qualify outright. Each zone was allocated with the following berths:
These are the final standings of the different Olympic qualifying tournaments. The venues are as follows, with the city of the knockout stage mentioned first:
This tournament consisted of 12 teams of which the top five teams earned a place in the Olympic Basketball tournament. It was held 25 June – 1 July 2012 in Ankara, Turkey.[1] The top eight teams qualified for the knockout round. All four quarterfinal winners advanced to the Olympics, then the four quarterfinal losers played two rounds to allocate the final slot. The four European teams won their quarterfinal matches, and Canada qualified for the final slot.