ABIDJAN (Côte d'Ivoire) - FIBA’s Regional Office of Africa held its second Central Board meeting for the 2023-2027 cycle over the weekend (November 18-19) in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire.
The Central Board followed an Executive Committee session held on November 17.
FIBA Regional Office of Africa’s President Anibal Manave opened the event, offering a warm welcome to delegates.
In attendance were FIBA President Sheikh Saud Ali Al Thani - who visited the West African country for the second time -, FIBA Treasurer Ingo Weiss, FIBA Regional Director for Africa Alphonse Bile, members of the Executive Committee and Presidents of Africa sub-zones.
FIBA Secretary General Andrea Zagklis attended the event via a video conference.
During the two-day gathering, members of the Regional Office of Africa’s Central Board met Cote d’Ivoire Minister of Sports Adje Silas.
During the meeting, the Government official and FIBA representatives - among several social and sports subjects - discussed at length the country’s commitment to the growth of basketball.
Recommendations, reviews of present, past and future events, including a host announcement of an upcoming tournament, were top of the table.
During the two-day gathering the Central Board discussed the following topics:
Nomination of Jean Michel Ramarasson as Vice President of FIBA Africa.
Extension of FIBA Africa headquarters with the aim of adding new meeting rooms.
Proposal of acquiring land to build a Sports Academy space.
The Central Board also reviewed the following topics:
Preparations for the 2025 FIBA AfroBasket tournaments to be held in Angola (Men) and Cote d’Ivoire (Women).
Strict scrutiny on players’ date of birth, following recent speculations on age fraud. This prompted the Central Board to consider a task force to regulate players’ date of birth.
In order to potentialize the growth of the 3-on-3 discipline on the continent, the Central Board encouraged countries establish a process where administrators would manage the future of the discipline.
Eventually, the Central Board commended Rwanda for successfully hosting one of the two 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup Pre-Qualifying tournaments last August; and congratulated Nigeria and South Sudan for their impressive campaigns at 2024 Paris Olympics.
The Central Board approved Nairobi as the host city for the Elite 16 East Division to be held from November 28 to December 3.
FIBA