MIES (FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019) - A large delegation of China's Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 spent this week taking part in workshops as it prepares to host FIBA's flagship competition.

From Monday to Thursday, the delegation paid its first-ever visit to the House of Basketball, FIBA's Headquarters on the outskirts of Geneva, where it held meetings about the general organisation of the 32-team event that will take place from 31 August-15 September 2019.

Under the leadership of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA), 22 representatives from the eight host cities - Beijing, Dongguan, Foshan, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Shanghai, Shenzhen and Wuhan - exchanged ideas with FIBA staff about the list of promotional activities that will be implemented at local, provincial, national and international levels in the lead-up to the World Cup. The need for a strong and coordinated approach on the matter of promotion was unanimously agreed upon and fully embraced. The brand identity of the FIBA Basketball World Cup and the competition schedule were also discussed at length.

Other wide-ranging topics, including the positive economic impact of organising and hosting a sporting event of this magnitude and the need to develop legacy programmes that will be enacted following the conclusion of the tournament, were covered during the workshop.

It was confirmed that four further meetings - in Wuhan, Guangzhou, Foshan and Nanjing - will take place in 2017.

The delegation took the time to visit the Naismith Arena - FIBA's exhibition space in the House of Basketball - and FIBA President Horacio Muratore welcomed all participants by hosting them at an official dinner.

Burton Shipley, FIBA Central Board Member and Chairman of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Coordination Committee, said: "We wish to thank the LOC of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 for coming to the House of Basketball this week. We have had some very productive and conclusive conversations with them and our collaboration with them keeps going from strength to strength."

On Friday, the delegation moved to the French city in Lyon, where it was welcomed by the country’s national basketball federation (FFBB), which shared its experience of hosting and organising FIBA EuroBasket 2015. The Chinese LOC's visit will also include taking in a game of local team ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne in France's top flight league on Saturday evening.

The first official promotional event for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 will take place on 4 December, a day that marks 1,000 days to go to the start of the competition.

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