Wheelchair basketball was removed from the 2024 Paralympics program on Friday, and could be cut from the upcoming Tokyo Paralympics as well.
The International Paralympic Committee and the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation are in a dispute about how players are graded and which ones should be eligible to compete.
The sport is open to a wide range of disabled athletes with rules requiring teams to include people with impairments of different severity.
The IPC wants to reassess some wheelchair basketball players hoping to compete at the Tokyo Paralympics and block any it considers ineligible. The 2024 Paralympic Games will be in Paris, and the ruling could still be reversed.
“We appreciate that wheelchair basketball is one of the most popular sports at the Paralympic Games, but this does not mean that the IWBF is above the rules," IPC president Andrew Parsons said in a statement. “Athlete classification is integral to all Paralympic sport and the failure of any sport to comply with the IPC Athlete Classification Code is of critical concern to us because it could threaten the integrity of competition."
The IWBF said it wants to reach a deal with the IPC before the Tokyo Paralympics and played down the differences between the two organizations.
“It is important to stress the eligibility of our athletes is not in doubt, merely we use different languages in our classification,” said Regina Costa, who chairs the IWBF classification commission.
The IPC said that IWBF rules allow some athletes who wouldn't be eligible for other Paralympic sports. IPC spokesman Craig Spence told The Associated Press that 50 to 75 athletes worldwide with certain types of impairment might have to be reassessed.
The United States is the defending champion in the men's and women's wheelchair basketball events.
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Bayern Munich still has rivals for the Bundesliga title, in theory at least, and Leipzig is one of them.
After Bayern matched the record points total for the halfway stage of a Bundesliga, beating the record on goal difference, only a spectacular collapse over the next four months would put Bayern's 11-point lead under threat.
Ahead of Saturday's game, Leipzig is third and has plenty to play for in a competitive fight for the Champions League places.
Bayern delivered an opening statement of intent by sweeping aside Leipzig 6-0 in the first round. Leipzig was much improved since and showed strong set-piece awareness in beating Freiburg 2-0 on Wednesday.
It's been a tough start to 2026 for Bayer Leverkusen, which seemed to find consistently strong form at the end of last year. A 4-1 loss to Stuttgart last week was followed by a weather-related postponement, so facing Hoffenheim on Saturday will be a key test.
The big factor holding back seventh-place Eintracht Frankfurt is a defense which has conceded 36 goals in 17 games, the league's third-worst record. Facing Werder Bremen's underperforming attack on Friday is a chance to improve that record.
Lennart Karl's breakout season for Bayern Munich has been must-see viewing in the Bundesliga and Champions League. The 17-year-old attacking midfielder scored again in Wednesday's 3-1 win over Cologne. His success will cause a selection headache for coach Vincent Kompany when Jamal Musiala finally returns from injury.
Hoffenheim's surprise push for Champions League qualification owes a lot to the experienced Andrej Kramaric, who's marking 10 years at the club this month and celebrated with a hat trick on Wednesday against Borussia Moenchengladbach.
Bayern is dealing with an injury list including midfielder Joshua Kimmich, who's spent the last month recovering from an ankle issue, and left back Alphonso Davies, back in training after illness. Defender Josip Stanisic is ruled out for the rest of January and forward Jamal Musiala's long-awaited comeback remains uncertain.
Leverkusen defender Edmond Tapsoba will miss up to three weeks after returning from the Africa Cup of Nations with a muscle injury.
Forward Younes Ebnoutalib scored on his debut for Eintracht Frankfurt against Dortmund last week but was set to miss several weeks after damaging a knee ligament in Tuesday's 3-2 loss to Stuttgart.
Postponed games are piling up in the Bundesliga after snowstorms caused chaos in northern Germany last week, causing three matches to be rescheduled. Hamburger SV is working on its stadium's roof ahead of Saturday's game against Borussia Moenchengladbach to avoid another postponement.
Frankfurt's six signings stand out in a quiet transfer window so far for Bundesliga clubs, especially since Ebnoutalib and fellow forward Ayoube Amaimouni-Echghouyab have each scored on their debuts. Young Nigerian winger Suleman Sani has joined Leipzig from Slovakian club Trencin.
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Leipzig's Romulo Cardoso, right, celebrates scoring with teammates Willi Orban, left, Castello Lukeba, second left, and Tidiam Gomis during the Bundesliga soccer match between RB Leipzig and SC Freiburg in Leipzig, Germany, Wednesday Jan. 14, 2026. (Jan Woitas/dpa via AP)
Bayern players greet fans at the end of the German Bundesliga soccer match between 1.FC Koeln and FC Bayern Munich in Cologne, Germany, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner)
