Basketball Uniform Artwork: What Should Buyers Check Before October 2026?

FIBA's published 2026 rulebook states that it becomes valid on 1 October 2026. On this research date, 15 September 2026, that date is still ahead. A buyer should not label the new edition as already effective merely because its PDF is available.

Buyer application: put the competition name, governing rules, season and organiser's confirmed adoption date on the order brief. Ask about any additional uniform or advertising regulations. A tournament held before October and a league beginning afterwards may need different approval references even when the physical garments are identical.

Keep the buyer's approval contact named in the file. A factory can manufacture to an agreed drawing, but it should not be asked to guess a school association's or tournament organiser's interpretation. This article is a sourcing checklist for the cited FIBA provisions, not a universal approval certificate for every basketball competition.

Evidence: FIBA

Article 4.3.2 in the 2026 text specifies clearly visible, contrasting plain numbers on both sides: at least 16 cm high on the back, 8 cm on the front and 2 cm wide. It permits 0, 00 and 1–99, prohibits duplicate player numbers within the team and requires advertising or logos to sit at least 4 cm from numbers. These listed requirements also appear in the cited 2024 edition.

Buyer application: annotate the production artwork with dimensions and units. Do not assume that a design exported at a particular pixel size has the intended printed size. Give the supplier the number artwork as a controlled file and ask for a dimensioned proof for the smallest garment in the size run.

Check a broad two-digit number as well as a narrow single digit. The occupied width changes, so a crest or sponsor that clears one example may crowd another. Ask the reviewer to measure the actual closest separation in the finished layout rather than judging space from the centre of the number.

Evidence: FIBA · FIBA

FIBA's 2026 change document explains that the requirement for socks to be visible has been removed. The replacement text still calls for socks of the same dominant colour across team members. This is a targeted equipment change, not permission to ignore colour coordination throughout the kit.

Buyer application: if socks are included in the purchasing brief, revise the relevant checklist line and confirm the organiser's requirements. Do not infer a new mandatory sock length, material or performance claim from this amendment. The change document supplies no reason to replace an otherwise acceptable jersey solely because it was sampled under the previous edition.

Keep any accessory decision separate from jersey artwork approval. Identify which items the supplier is actually quoting and which the club obtains elsewhere. That prevents a complete-kit description from becoming an unintended promise about products, colour matching or supply responsibilities that have not been agreed.

Evidence: FIBA

A flat mockup is useful for choosing a direction, but the approval sample should show the intended fabric, panel seams and decoration method. Put it on a wearer in the relevant size and review the front and back in a normal playing posture. Record whether folds, a neckline or an armhole change the apparent placement.

Ask for dimensions to be checked on the finished sample under agreed conditions. A print file can be correct while cutting or assembly shifts the visible design. Keep the measurement record with sample photographs and the artwork revision so a later conversation is about the same garment, not different versions of a graphic.

Review the light and dark versions separately. Reversing the background colour can change number contrast and the appearance of a logo border. Do not approve both versions from one attractive photograph. If an outline is needed, ask the competition contact to review the complete number treatment rather than assuming every decorative effect is acceptable.

Do not automatically scale all artwork down in proportion to a smaller garment. Ask the supplier to show how the number block and surrounding marks fit each relevant size group while preserving the approved measurements. If a layout becomes crowded, resolve the design before bulk cutting instead of leaving the operator to compress it.

Use a roster with one controlled entry for each player's number, garment size and quantity. Preserve 0 and 00 as distinct text entries so spreadsheet formatting does not silently collapse them. Check the front and back files against the same roster and identify spare garments separately from player allocations.

Any late change should state the affected row and artwork revision. Reapprove a changed sponsor or number arrangement where it alters spacing. This is different from deciding between reversible and separate uniforms: the present decision is whether each actual production layout is ready to release.

Send Olinc the jersey and shorts references, quantity split, size list, light and dark artwork files, permitted marks and delivery destination. Include the agreed rules edition and any organiser correspondence. Ask the quotation to distinguish sample work, bulk manufacture and transport assumptions instead of relying on an unsupported delivery promise.

Name the person who approves the physical sample and the person who signs off competition requirements. These roles may belong to the same buyer, but the decisions remain separate. A manufacturing approval confirms the agreed product details; it does not establish federation licensing or authorise a trademark that the buyer does not own.

Retain the signed drawing, dated sample record and final roster for reorders. Before repeating the order, check for changed competition requirements and changed sponsor rights. Ask for any material, pattern or decoration substitution to be disclosed before production, even if the catalogue reference has stayed the same.