Kyle Hosford back in Ireland squad for two matches this week

Kyle Hosford has been included in an Ireland squad of 12 players that will compete in two crucial FIBA Basketball World Cup European Pre-Qualifiers against Switzerland and Azerbaijan on Thursday and Sunday.

Hosford - who served as Ireland captain before retiring from international duty in 2022 - has earned a recall after making himself available for selection once more.

Hosford proved instrumental from the point as UCC Demons won the Pat Duffy National Cup final in 2024, before leading the club back to the final earlier this January.

Sean Jenkins also returns to the roster after missing November’s wins against Kosovo and Azerbaijan.

Ireland’s leading scorer in FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 European Pre-Qualifying Taiwo Badmus misses out on the second window in succession through injury. The Valur Reykjavik forward is joined on the injury list by Joels Dublin Lions’ Aidan Igiehon.

"November’s games at home were must-win if we wanted to keep our qualification hopes alive, so we were delighted to get back-to-back wins against Azerbaijan and Kosovo in front of our home fans, especially missing the likes of Taiwo (Badmus). But we quickly parked that as a group because the job isn’t done," said Ireland captain Sean Flood.

The reverse fixture of Thursday’s clash with Switzerland saw Ireland lose out 86-63 in Dublin a year ago, but just a point separated the teams when they met in two friendlies in their previous meetings.

"For us, there’s a familiarity with the Swiss team now," added Flood. "We’ve played them quite a bit in recent years and they’re a great team with so many threats, but we are also confident in our own ability to go out there and get a positive result in Fribourg on Thursday evening."

Ireland head coach Mark Keenan is