FIBA, the international governing body of basketball, has announced that players will be allowed to wear religious head coverings such as scarves and turbans on a trial basis in some competitions over the next two years.
Formerly, the FIBA regulations only permitted a five-centimetre headband to be worn in order to protect the eyes from sweat or long hair, but this drew objections that the regulation discriminated against Muslims and Sikhs who wear head coverings as part of their religious practices.
The experiment will be reviewed in 2015 and the final decision on whether to make a permanent change in the regulations will be made in 2016.
International federations of football and volleyball already allow Muslim women to wear the hijab during their games.
