Great Britain had a fantastic event in Beijing to beat the USA to third place and coach Murray Treseder is looking forward to the event in May, where some of the developmental squad will have the chance to compete: “The BT Paralympic World Cup is a great event and this year four of the top five teams in the world are competing, which makes it very elite.”

The ex-Australian head coach continued: “Australia is now the benchmark and we are excited about exposing the younger emerging athletes to play against the best in the world.”

Justin Eveson, who was part of the Australian team who beat Canada to win gold in Beijing, hopes this will be the year his team win the title that has so far eluded them: “This year we are looking forward to another successful tournament at the BT Paralympic World Cup. Obviously we would like to go one better this time, having finished with the silver medal three times, but if we get the process right, then a good result will come.

“As a team we are looking forward to the opportunity to continue our success in Beijing, while soaking up the atmosphere of what is always a great tournament.”

With the 2010 Wheelchair Basketball World Championships being held in Great Britain, the BT Paralympic World Cup will be a crucial stepping stone towards the event in Birmingham, as well as the Paralympic Games in London in 2012.

International Wheelchair Basketball Federation President Maureen Orchard said: “IWBF is very pleased to continue to be part of the BT Paralympic World Cup. It offers an amazing opportunity for some of the best teams in the world to compete at a top level event.

“On the men’s side, Australia will be looking to prove their gold medal in Beijing was just the start of a dynasty and the teams from Great Britain, Germany and the USA will try to knock them off the top of the podium. On the women’s side we will have some very close competition as we continue to bring in teams in the top 5-8 in the world. One of the legacies of IWBF’s involvement in the BT Paralympic World Cup is the opportunity for us to develop our women’s teams.”

In the women’s competition, the 2008 BT Paralympic World Cup champions Netherlands take on silver medallists China, with bronze medallists Great Britain and Mexico, who won the title in 2006, completing the line-up.

Great Britain’s Caroline Matthews, competing in her fifth consecutive event, said: “The BT Paralympic World Cup is one of my favourite events and we will be aiming to do our best and give it 110 per cent on the court. It’s so important for us to gain as much international experience as we can in order to become better players and a better team.”

The BT Paralympic World Cup is the first major multi-sport elite disability event to be staged since the Beijing Paralympic Games and major international stars and a strong British contingent are expected. The competition will be staged in Manchester from 20-25 May, with over 400 competitors from over 31 countries scheduled to compete. Athletes will compete in four sports at world class competition venues in Manchester: wheelchair basketball and athletics hosted at the Manchester Regional Arena, swimming at the Manchester Aquatics Centre and track cycling at the Manchester Velodrome.

Tickets for the BT Paralympic World Cup are now on sale and can be purchased via this website or by calling 0844 847 1622. Tickets cost £3 per session.

BT is the title sponsor of the Paralympic World Cup; the sponsorship runs up to and includes the 2012 BT Paralympic World Cup.

The official 2009 stakeholders of the BT Paralympic World Cup are the Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWRDA), Manchester City Council and UK Sport.

The BT Paralympic World Cup is sanctioned by the IPC and IWBF.

The BBC, the official televised partner to the event, will broadcast live from the Manchester Aquatics Centre on Monday 25 May 2009 on BBC Television.