MIAMI – The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) in the Americas held its Executive and Zone Board meetings on February 28th & 29th in Miami, Florida.

The meetings were attended by FIBA President Hamane Niang, FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis,FIBA Americas President Carol Callan, and FIBA Americas Executive Director Carlos Alves.

Other officials in attendance were FIBA Honorary President Horacio Muratore, FIBA Americas Executive Committee members Usie Richards, Marcelo Bedoya, Yamil Bukele and Michele O'Keefe, while presidents of numerous basketball federations were on hand. They included Kenneth Vrolijk of Aruba, Claire Mitchell of Trinidad & Tobago, Ricardo Vairo of Uruguay, Yum Ramos of Puerto Rico and Fabian Borro of Argentina, as were FIBA Treasurer Ingo Weiss and FIBA Senior Director Markus Studer.

Regional Office Relocation to Miami
FIBA Americas unveiled its new headquarters in Miami, Florida, on Friday. Known as "The Gateway to The Americas", the city is now the home of FIBA in the region. The new headquarters of the FIBA Americas is just a couple of miles from the Miami City Hall and well connected to the Miami International Airport, located at 3480 Main Highway. It has 4,205 square feet of open space layout. The opening ceremony was held on Friday February 28th at 6:30pm. All members of the Executive and zone Board attended the event. “It is an honour and privilege for us to be now established in Miami. This move represents a new chapter for Fiba in the Americas as it enhances our capacity to continue to serve our National Federation and streamline the development and promotion of basketball in the region”, said Executive Director Carlos Alves.

FIBA AmeriCup 2021 Qualifiers
The Zone Board was updated on the successful launch of the FIBA AmeriCup 2021 Qualifiers that held its first window in the las week of February with 16 teams, all playing at home, to exciting crowds and competitive games. The second window will be played later in the year in November.

Basketball Champions League Americas
An update was given on the continental club competition now in the middle of its Semifinal round, highlighting great games and sold-out crowds throughout the region. Argentina’s Quimsa, Instituto and San Lorenzo, along with Brazil’s Flamengo are the four teams battling for the continental trophy in its debut edition. “We are very proud of the work our teams across the region have done to get this league to be so successful in its very first edition. Our partnership with National Federation and Leagues is paying off and we are very excited with the future and the opportunities that we will have to develop the game through this new platform”, said Horacio Muratore, President of the BCLA Board.

Global Strategy
A roadmap for implementation of FIBA’s global strategy for the 2019-2023 period was presented to the Zone Board. FIBA Strategy for the 2019-2023 period has three priorities, to empower national federations, develop women in basketball, and enlarge the FIBA family. The new strategy was discussed in detail with the Presidents and representatives from the national federations in the Zone, putting in place an implementation timeline for each pillar and focusing on the development and promotion of 3x3.

2019 Events
The Executive Director gave a detailed report on 2019 events that included Women’s AmeriCup, World Cup Qualifiers last window, Youth Development Program and events for the calendar year.

“It was a pleasure to have the leaders of our region working together with the direction so clearly stated by the new global strategy to grow basketball. It was an important couple of days for the Americas region with the opening of the new office in Miami and the celebration of a successful FIBA AmeriCup 2021 Qualifiers first window. Our mission is clear and we are committed to executing them for the benefit and growth of basketball in the Americas.”, concluded FIBA Americas President Carol Callan.

FIBA