MIES (House of Basketball) – FIBA on Monday held the groundbreaking ceremony for its ‘House of Basketball’, which once completed, will serve as the organisation’s world headquarters.

Members of the basketball family travelled from all five continents to attend the ceremony and were joined by International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Jacques Rogge, Councillor of State for Canton Vaud Jean-Claude Mermoud as well as local mayor for the municipality of Mies Patrice Engelberts.

FIBA President Yvan Mainini said: “A birth like this is something very important for FIBA. FIBA was first created in 1932 in Geneva and today is like a re-birth as we break ground here to give the federation the dynamism it will need in coming years. We look forward to this project being completed so that we can welcome you all here again in two years time.”

Rogge told the more than 200 persons attending the ceremony: “Basketball is a universal sport. It is a sport that requires very little infrastructure and therefore is ideal to be played at school level. It is a sport where there is no violence, that carries values and that is very appealing.”

“I would like to congratulate FIBA for this great initiative. This building will allow FIBA to do an even better job of fulfilling its mission regarding basketball and the development of the sport.”

The building, which seen from above is shaped like a hand and incorporates structural elements strongly resembling a basketball net, should be completed during the winter of 2012-2013, with investment in the project totalling CHF 30 million. As well as the administrative offices of FIBA, the building will house the newly set up International Basketball Foundation (IBF) and the FIBA Hall of Fame.

During the ceremony, a capsule was filled with basketball objects and memorabilia that included a signed ball, a game jersey and a book on the history of FIBA that will be cemented into the building’s foundations.

Photographs of the ceremony and images of the building are available on flickr.com/fibaworld.

About FIBA
FIBA (www.fiba.basketball) – the world governing body for basketball – is an independent association formed by 213 National Basketball Federations throughout the world. It is recognised as the sole competent authority in basketball by the International Olympic Committee (IOC). For further information about FIBA and FIBA Championships visit facebook.com/fibaworld and twitter.com/fibaworld or youtube.com/fibaworld.