ABIDJAN (Cote d'Ivoire) - On July 25, FIBA Africa held its midterm congress for the 2023-2027 mandate in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire.
The event took place the day before the 2025 FIBA Women's AfroBasket began. The tournament took place from July 26 to August 3 in Ivory Coast's largest city.
The congress, which was chaired by FIBA Africa President Anibal Manave, discussed and approved relevant topics that shed light on the present and future of basketball in Africa.
The event was attended by the leaders of 46 national basketball federations from Africa.
They were joined by the president of FIBA, Sheikh Saud Ali Al Thani; the secretary general of FIBA, Andreas Zagklis; the treasurer of FIBA, Ingo Weiss; the executive director of Africa, Alphonse Bile; members of the Executive Committee of the Regional Office of Africa; members of the Central Board of FIBA Africa; the president of the FIBA Foundation, Hamane Niang; the president of the Basketball Africa League (BAL), Amadou Gallo Fall; and the minister of sports of the Ivory Coast, Adjé Silas Metch.
In his welcome speech, Mr. Manave talked about the progress FIBA Regional Office Africa has made over the last years. He said that success is the way forward for the institution.
Mr Manave said: “Our progress has been substantial and transformative. We have created a groundbreaking partnership with the Olympic Africa Center to develop youth 3X3 basketball, opening new pathways for our young athletes; The extension of our headquarters has provided better working conditions, enabling our team to serve African basketball more effectively.”
Mr Manave continued: “Over the next two years, we must build our academy to prepare our human resources. We aim to develop the WBLA into a professional league, establish the Road to BAL as a viable and sustainable second-tier competition and increase strict measures against age fraud. We must advocate for infrastructure development in our nations to allow for more markets to host competitions, guarantee stability in qualification competitions and avoid forfeits and maintain credibility.”
Mr. Djé Silas Metch greeted guests in Côte d'Ivoire and spoke about how his country is working to develop basketball in Africa.
During the event, FIBA Regional Office Africa was given the green light to start building a new arena and sports academy in Abidjan.
FIBA Secretary General Andres Zakglis said that basketball is growing in Africa.
Mr. Bile said that the plan to grow 3X3 basketball is on track. There is a local organization that is dedicated to improving the sport. This organization wants to represent Africa at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Mr. Bile said that the last two years have been good. The official recognized the success of the FIBA Qualifying windows around the world. He also mentioned the importance of the 2023 FIBA AfroCan, which was held in Angola. He reminded everyone that FIBA and the National Basketball Association (NBA) must continue working together.
“In conclusion, this midterm congress is positive in terms of activities and directions set in 2023. Halfway through the term, the results achieved promise an improvement for African basketball after the difficult COVID-19 period. We remain optimistic about the growth in development and competition activities. We must keep progressing by consolidating the results we have achieved,” Mr Bile noted.
The presentation on U16 basketball included ideas to organize yearly events to reach more communities.
FIBA