FIBA confirms stop of EuroLeague and EuroCup Women, FIBA Europe Cup until end of season

The FIBA Europe Board term of office 2019-2023, which convened on Friday, took important decisions regarding the club competitions of the current season, following developments with the coronavirus pandemic.

More specifically the Board decided to suspend indefinitely and without resuming until the end of the current club season all games of the competitions organized by FIBA Europe (EuroLeague Women, EuroCup Women and FIBA Europe Cup).

In the coming weeks, based on how the situation with the pandemic evolves and following future FIBA decisions on basketball competitions, the Board will take the necessary decisions regarding the status of the 2019-20 edition of these competitions.

The meeting which took place via video conference because of travel restrictions imposed by the pandemic, was chaired by FIBA Europe President Turgay Demirel, with FIBA President Hamane Niang, FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis and FIBA Executive Director Europe Kamil Novak also in attendance.

Addressing the Board Mr. Demirel reminded all those attending that FIBA Europe is putting the health and safety of its main stakeholders – players, coaches, fans, media – first and foremost.

He said: “As the governments try to take measures to contain the pandemic it is clearly recommended by all experts to cancel sports and live events to try to delay the spread of the virus. We have followed those recommendations by the experts.”

Mr. Novak added: “It is with great regret that we have to end our club season in such a manner, but as the governing body of basketball we do operate and will always operate with having the player’s safety and integrity as our utmost priority. This is an unprecedented event and it could have only been dealt with in extraordinary fashion.”

Following requests by a number of national federations and as the impact of the coronavirus pandemic can grow significantly, the Board also agreed to monitor and decide by April any possible rescheduling or relocation of all upcoming summer events, starting with the Board meeting and the General Assembly of May, the two Small Countries Championships of women and men, in Cyprus and Ireland respectively, in late June and all July events. The Board may decide on August events on a later date.

The Board also approved the timeline for the bidding process for FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2023 and FIBA EuroBasket 2025.

Both bids will open in the coming weeks, with invitations sent to the European national federations to submit their interest in organizing either of the two events.

The Board members were updated about progress in the preparations for FIBA EuroBasket 2021 and FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2021.

They were also briefed on the Basketball Champions League and were presented reports of the different FIBA Europe permanent commissions, by their respective chairpersons.

The members also saw an extensive presentation by the 3×3 department, covering its events calendar and explanations of systems of qualification and other aspects of organization.