ATHENS (Greece) - The FIBA Europe Board, term of office 2023-27, concluded its sixth meeting in Athens, Greece on Friday, March 7, 2025.
The event, which was hosted by the Hellenic Basketball Federation, 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.
Greece's Secretary General of Sport Giorgos Mavrotas opened the meeting and welcomed the delegates to Athens. He mentioned the importance of Greece hosting the FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2025. The Secretary General, Takis Lambros, welcomed the members on behalf of the Hellenic Basketball Federation.
In his intervention Mr. Zagklis offered updates on the upcoming FIBA Mid-Term congress in Manama, Bahrain, in May as well as Women in Basketball, Youth Basketball including the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup events and eFIBA.
National team competitions
The Qualifiers for both FIBA EuroBasket 2025 and FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2025 concluded in February the draws of the final event are due this month. The women's event will take place on March 8 in Athens, while the men's will take place on March 27 in Riga, Latvia.
The Women's EuroBasket Qualifiers saw Portugal qualifying for the event for the first time in history while there was a 20 percent increase in overall attendance as compared to the previous cycle. This included a Qualifiers single-game record attendance of 10,614 in the game between Belgium and Lithuania, played in Antwerp in November 2024.
There were also strong attendances throughout all three men's EuroBasket Qualifiers windows in February 2024, November 2024 and February 2025.
Of the 24 teams that qualified for the men's EuroBasket, there will be five countries either making their debuts or returning to the competition.
The Second Round of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 European Pre-Qualifiers will be played in August, with the Draw of the four groups taking place at the House of Basketball in Mies, Switzerland on March 14.
FIBA EuroBasket 2029
The Board will vote to decide the hosts of FIBA EuroBasket 2029, on May 23 in Riga, Latvia. Currently, in the running to host the event are seven countries, after the withdrawal of Germany this week.
Club competitions
The Board also saw running reports on the club competitions, with a special update on the upcoming EuroLeague Women, the first season of the competition with the new format and a Final 6 hosted in Zaragoza for three seasons in a row.
Development and grassroots
Mr. Novak offered updates on the ongoing FIBA Europe projects, including Hoops for Schools and IcoachGirls which are Erasmus+ initiatives, as well as the iconic WiLead and FIBA Plus programs.
The TIME-OUT 3.0 which started in September 2024 is set to conclude in August this year with the graduation at the House of Basketball in August.
Youth EuroBaskets
The Board approved a request by the Albanian Federation to move the FIBA U16 EuroBasket 2025, Division C (July 5-13) from Tirana to Korca and subsequently the FIBA U18 EuroBasket 2025, Division C (July 19-27) from Durres to Tirana.
Other matters
The Board acknowledged a report about the situation with the British Basketball Federation regarding the League in Britain.
The Board also heard reports from the Management Committee for Special Projects regarding the Youth Development Fund; Her World Her Rules and Alley-Oop.
The next Board will take place in Riga, Latvia, on May 22, followed by the National Federations' Secretaries General workshop on May 23 and the General Assembly on May 24.
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