MIES (Switzerland) - Bestowed upon the winners of the FIBA Basketball World Cup, the Naismith Trophy will be a welcome sight for players and fans at five games during the November World Cup 2023 qualifying window.

Among them will be Israel's passionate supporters, with the prestigious award on display in the Shlomo Group Arena in Tel Aviv before the team's game against Poland, on November 25, the European Qualifiers game for the World Cup.

 On November 26, supporters in Klaipeda’s Svyturio Arena, where they will be cheering on Lithuania against Bulgaria, will be able to view the coveted prize. 

Newly redesigned before the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019, basketball's ultimate prize features a roll of honor listing all world champions. The 2023 victor will join as the 19th team to etch their names into history.

Fans of the Akatsuki Five will also be able to sneak a peek at the trophy on November 27 when Japan host China in the Asian Qualifiers, at Sendai's Xebio Arena. Japan is one of the nations staging FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 games, along with Indonesia and the Philippines. Sendai was also a host city for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2006. 

The fervor for national team basketball is as intense in Istanbul - the city where East meets West - as anywhere and it, too, will be a place where fans can catch a glimpse of the Naismith Trophy. It can be viewed there on November 28, the day when Turkey take on Great Britain in the Sinan Erdem Arena. This was the venue of the Final Round of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2010, where the 12 Giant Men marched to the Final before falling to tournament MVP Kevin Durant and the United States. 

Fans in the land of the two-time world champions, Spain, will also have the satisfaction of seeing the Naismith Trophy when it is displayed in the Andalusian city of Jaen on November 29. The trophy will be on display at the Palacio de Deportes Olivo Arena, where Spain - winners of the World Cup in both 2006 and 2019 - host Georgia. 

The trophy will be promoted not only at all the arenas but also by making studio television appearances in several of the cities. 

FIBA