El Salvador will host the Mini Basketball Jamboree to forward its basketball development

SAN SALVADOR (El Salvador) – The Salvadorian Basketball Federation (FESABAL, for its Spanish acronym) lives a great stage in its basketball development and, will conclude this year by celebrating the FIBA World Mini Basketball Jamboree in December.

Yamil Bukele, FIBA Vice-President and FESABAL President, confirmed in China the news at the World Basketball Congress that takes place during the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 in the city of Beijing.

The Jamboree will be held from December 12 to 15, and Bukele, who’s also the Central American and Caribbean Confederation (CONCENCABA) President, explained that this three-day event promotes a coexistence that promotes that young players share with each other their basketball knowledge and that they play without thinking about competing, but rather focus on the main goals: having fun and falling in love with the sport.

“We hope to have around a thousand children from the entire nation. We'll also invite Salvadorian and foreign coaches, so that – with interpreters – participants can benefit from the courses that will be given by the 30 international coaches that will go to El Salvador and share their experiences and sports knowledge,” said Bukele to FIBA.basketball.

The logistics surrounding the event are still being discussed – it could be in the Adolfo Pineda National Gymnasium or event in a rural part of the South American nation. Cooperation and hosting international events are two of the work axes included in El Salvador's Athletic and Recreational Development Plan for 2019-2039, which is part of the Cuscatlán Plan of the Government El Salvador, of which Bukele is also partly because of his presidency of El Salvador National Institute of Sports (INDES).

This international event has the support of the FIBA Sub-Zone of CONCENCABA and the Sub-Sub Zone of COCABA, and its respective leaders expressed their enthusiasm for holding the Jamboree at El Salvador.

“Without a doubt, hosting the festival in El Salvador reaffirms FIBA's commitment to the entire world, now led by Yamil Bukele. I believe that international festivals have a lot of future ahead of them. Every time we bring children together and we organize tournaments, we witness the great potential of our zone to be outstanding at an international level. We must be consistent with these festivals. Parents must support their children's talents, allow them to have fun and let them enjoy basketball. Mini Basketball is unique and is, without a doubt, the future of the sport in Central America,” said COCABA President Mario Méndez Realpozo to FIBA.basketball.

The idea of these festivals is that they're not just an event you have to win, but (an opportunity) to learn, to discover new paths, new alliances, new friends. For FESABAL and COCABA, the experience and what should be taught to children from an early age is to practice basketball so that, since they're little, they can get involved and reach the national teams and compete in national, continental and international tournaments in the future.

The goal of Mini Basketball is to provide opportunities for children of all levels to enjoy enriching experiences that they can enthusiastically live in basketball.

“These experiences they live change children. They make friends for their entire lives. This is what hosting a Mini Basketball festival entails, (this is) its importance, aside from FIBA’s and the IDF’s dedication, which is without a doubt, fundamental for the future of our children. Being able to give them a place to develop, to make cultural exchanges, to share ideas on their countries, to live experiences like getting on a plane or a bus to go to an event where they know they’ll meet children of different latitudes and nations and, above all, their Central American siblings,” added Méndez.

He also talked about the leaders’ actions: “A great effort is being made to make festivals in the Americas a regular thing. No doubt these leaders make Mini Basketball something that's definitely unique for Central America and the Americas.”

“This is a great opportunity for FESABAL to continue promoting basketball throughout the country. Although there are new motivations that incentivize the youth to practice this sport, there's nothing better than starting with the youngest. This isn't just because of their experiences with other children from the country, but also because of the knowledge that coaches from other countries can share, the exchange of knowledge, the strengthening of our coaches so that they learn first-hand how basketball should be thought to younger ages. This, without a doubt, will give us short-term results,” added Bukele.

He also stated: “We need to be the best hosts. We’ll work hand in hand with FIBA so that our country hosts the best Jamboree, that players have the best exchange and that coaches absorb all possible quality information. It’ll be like a national festival.”

This is the first time El Salvador will host a Jamboree, but many of the Central American country's previous experiences have prepared it to be ready to host the tournament. In 2016, they hosted a Mini Basketball Festival for COCABA, Central America and Mexico.

“FIBA is growing and it's doing so in the best way possible. The global leadership, with the support of the Sub-Zones’ leadership, is achieving that all federations have a common objective. This is to strengthen structures and bring people to basketball. In El Salvador we've shown that we're in tune with this and that we're working accordingly,” concluded Bukele to FIBA.basketball.

FIBA