REGENSBURG (David Hein's Eye on the Future) - When the basketball world comes to the Bulgarian capital of Sofia for the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2020, it will see a Bulgarian federation thrilled to show off a vast wealth of experience hosting youth events not to mention a couple of solid prospects on the court.

FIBA announced that the sixth edition of the U17 World Cup will return to Europe for the fourth time after previous tournaments in Hamburg, Germany in 2010, Kaunas, Lithuania in 2012 and Zaragoza, Spain in 2016 - with the other two hosts being Dubai, United Arab Emirates in 2012 and Rosario/Santa Fe, Argentina in 2018.

"Hosting the FIBA U17 World Cup is a great honor for the Bulgarian basketball federation. We are grateful to FIBA for granting us the right to host such an important and major event. This is a great acknowledgment for us as a governing body of the Bulgarian basketball," said Georgi Glushkov, the president of the Bulgarian Basketball Federation. "This announcement comes in the 100th year of the organized basketball in Bulgaria, and this is the pearl of all our efforts for promoting the game in the country. But also a big challenge to improve and develop."

Nobody should doubt Sofia and the Bulgarians because they have invested massively in hosting this event. The Balkan nation bid for the U17 World Cup in 2018 but Argentina was awarded the tournament. That led the Bulgarians to submit an even better 2020 bid.

“HOSTING THE FIBA U17 WORLD CUP IS A GREAT HONOR FOR THE BULGARIAN BASKETBALL FEDERATION. WE ARE GRATEFUL TO FIBA FOR GRANTING US THE RIGHT TO HOST SUCH AN IMPORTANT AND MAJOR EVENT.”- Glushkov

"We worked even harder to make our candidature better and to deserve this honor and responsibility. We are sure that bringing the most talented young players in the world in Bulgaria will help us to promote basketball even more," Glushkov said.

For those who follow youth European Championships, reading the name Sofia as a host city is no surprise. Bulgaria has hosted 19 youth European Championships between 2001 and 2018 - some of them with 24 teams - with Sofia being the main host of late. The 1.2 million resident city located in western Bulgaria hosted the FIBA U16 European Championship, Division B in 2015, 2016 and 2017; the FIBA U18 European Championship, Division B in 2014; the FIBA U20 European Championship, Division B in 2012 and 2018; and the FIBA U20 Women’s European Championship, Division B in 2014.

This summer, Sofia will host the FIBA U16 Women’s European Championship 2019, Division B with 23 teams and the Bulgarian capital will also host the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation’s 2019 European Championship for Men Division C with seven countries.

"Organizing big events such as European Championships with a lot of participating teams is very important for us. We can proudly confirm that the Bulgarian basketball federation is a very experienced organizer of top youth basketball events," Glushkov said.

The timing of the U17 World Cup coincides with one of the strongest Bulgarian generations in some time as the 2003-born group features Konstantin Kostadinov and Ivan Borissov, who are playing with Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, respectively.

Konstantin Kostadinov will be one of the leaders for Bulgaria at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2020

"One of the main advantages of hosting the FIBA U17 World Cup in Bulgaria is the opportunity to have Konstantin and Ivan playing at home with the national team in front of their peers," the Bulgarian federation president said. "Konstantin and Ivan are really talented young prospects not only for the Bulgarian but also for European basketball. We hope that their presence in the national team will give more confidence to other players in the team and will boost the level of the local basketball at this age."

Kostadinov has already played two FIBA U16 European Championship Division B tournaments, averaging 7.9 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.9 blocks, 1.8 assists and 1.0 steals in 2017 as a player two years younger than the rest of the competition and then collecting 17.3 points, 7.5 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.1 blocks last summer.

"Konstantin already has been a part of the U16 national team, playing with boys that are one or two years older and has improved himself as a team leader. The FIBA U17 World Cup can be a new challenge and a trampoline for his future in major basketball, as it will be for all young Bulgarian players," Glushkov said.

“KONSTANTIN (KOSTADINOV) AND IVAN (BORISSOV) ARE REALLY TALENTED PROSPECTS NOT ONLY FOR THE BULGARIAN BUT ALSO FOR EUROPEAN BASKETBALL. WE HOPE THAT THEIR PRESENCE IN THE NATIONAL TEAM WILL GIVE MORE CONFIDENCE TO OTHER PLAYERS IN THE TEAM AND WILL BOOST THE LEVEL OF THE LOCAL BASKETBALL AT THIS AGE.”- Glushkov

Kostadinov and Borissov this summer will be aiming to get Bulgaria back to the Division A at the U16 European level for the first time since 2011. That was the end of a three-year run of strong Bulgarian talents in the 1993, 1994 and 1995 generations.

The 1993 group of Pavlin Ivanov, Tencho Tenchev , Dimitar Dimitrov and Aleks Simeonov teamed together to get Bulgaria to the Division A at the U16 level in 2009 and then matched the feat at the U18 level in 2011 - with the Bulgarians staying in the Division A for two summers both times. Ivanov, Tenchev and co. got Bulgaria promoted from Division B at the U20 age group in 2012 and the country remained in the Division A in 2013, 2014 and 2015.

Pavlin Ivanov was one of the most important players in Bulgaria's youth basketball history

Also helping the 1993-born group were Deyan Karamfilov and Nikolay Stoyanov from the 1994 generation as well as the 1995-born star Aleksandar Vezenkov.

Whether or not Kostadinov and Borissov can get Bulgaria back up to Division A across the levels in Europe remains to be seen. But they will be the leaders of a team that will have the fans excited at the FIBA U17 Basketball World Cup 2020, which will also have the visitors and teams impressed with the level of hosting.

David Hein

FIBA

FIBA's columnists write on a wide range of topics relating to basketball that are of interest to them. The opinions they express are their own and in no way reflect those of FIBA.

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