FIBA Europe Board holds third meeting of 2023-2027 cycle in Gibraltar

The third meeting of the FIBA Europe Board, term of office 2023-27, was held in Gibraltar on Friday, coinciding with this year’s anniversary of 60 years of Gibraltar Amateur Basketball Association.

The Minister for Sport of the Government of Gibraltar, Mr Leslie Bruzon, opened proceedings by offering a warm welcome to the delegates, praising the strong ties between Gibraltar and the world of sport and FIBA.

The session was chaired by FIBA Europe President Jorge Garbajosa, while FIBA President Sheikh Saud Ali Al Thani, FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis and FIBA Executive Director Europe Kamil Novak were all in attendance.

The following key topics were discussed during the meeting:

Club competitions 2023-24

Reports were presented on the state of play of the club competitions which are nearing their final stage of the season.

Mr Garbajosa confirmed that FIBA Europe in conjunction with all relevant partners are currently working on a strategic plan and a commitment to raise the level of club competitions.

Time-Out 3.0 project

The Board approved the continuation of the Time-Out program that aims to offer academic qualification to former elite players, in partnership with Northumbria University in the United Kingdom. The previous two versions of the program have been universally praised as an enormous success.

National team competitions

Reports were received on the recent Qualifiers for FIBA EuroBasket 2025 and Women’s EuroBasket 2025 as well as the World Cup 2027 European Pre-Qualifiers and the Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournaments.

Special attention was paid to the fact that all Qualifiers on European soil scored high attendance numbers, proving yet again the fans’ desire to watch their national teams playing at home.

FIBA EuroBasket 2025 and FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2025

Updates were offered with regards to preparations of the two flagship events, including the unveiling of the logos and the promotion plan for the two events.

FIBA EuroBasket 2029 and FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2027

The bidding process for FIBA EuroBasket 2029 will be opened in 2024. The hosts are expected to be confirmed during a dedicated event in June 2025.

Interest has been expressed by a number of European Federations to act as additional hosts for FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2027 added to the current approved hosts of Lithuania and Finland. The appointment of additional hosts will take place in November 2024.

Youth EuroBasket

The Board was presented with the new logo concept for the Youth EuroBasket.

There was a change of venue for the FIBA U16 EuroBasket, Division C tournament, from Durres to Tirana, upon request by the hosting Albanian Basketball Federation.

The Board also approved an early designation of hosts for 2025, as follows:

Small Countries Championships

The men’s and women’s European Championships for Small Countries have a new logo and identity concept which was presented to the Board.

Other matters

The Board approved the application criteria for the Special Project under which, every year and based on the recommendations of the Management Committee, 10 small and middle-sized National Federations will receive additional financial support.

The next Board meeting and the FIBA Europe General Assembly will take place in Portoroz, Slovenia in May.