TENERIFE (Spain) - FIBA's Equipment & Venue Centre held its biennial Partners' Meeting in Tenerife from September 26-28.

The event is very important for both FIBA and its Partners as it facilitates discussions about business opportunities, as well as the exchange of information and is a great way of strengthening the network of Partners.

Forty-one (41) Partners from 34 different companies - equivalent to a 50 percent representation rate of all FIBA Equipment & Venue Centre Partners - attended the event on the biggest of Spain's Canary Islands.

Among the topics discussed were the improvement of the E&V Centre’s Regulations and of the FIBA Equipment rules. Improvements to Partner Contracts for the 2020-2023 period were also introduced, while the creation of a pool of FIBA accredited testing laboratories was presented.

Intertional Basketball Foundation (IBF) Director Florian Wanninger talked about the growth of 3x3 - FIBA's urban discipline which is set to make its Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020 - and the opportunities this presents.

FIBA Marketing Director David Nivelle and FIBA Marketing Manager Gustavo Arellano spoke of the opportunities to become Official Technical Suppliers of FIBA Competition, while FIBA Sport and Competitions Director Pedrag Bogosavljev gave an update on FIBA and Basketball Champions League competitions.

The Partners also had the opportunity to talk with FIBA Legal Director Andreas Zagklis and Legal Affairs Manager Natalie St. Cyr Clarke about all legal matters and with Lubomir Kotleba, Advisor to the FIBA Secretary General, about technical questions related to equipment rules.

As the E&V Centre is managed by FIBA's Foundation, the International Basketball Foundation (IBF), Mr Wanninger also used the opportunity to talk about the Foundation's ‘Basketball For Good’ projects and how partners can contribute to these meaningful initiatives.

As the meeting occurred during the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2018, all partners were invited to take in some of the action, in the shape of a thrilling Turkey-France clash,  as well as attend a gala dinner in the presence of FIBA President Horacio Muratore, and FIBA Vice-President and FIBA Africa President Hamane Niang.

The next gathering of the E&V Centre Partners will take place from November 5-8, 2019, at the FSB in Cologne.

FIBA