FIBA – Elphinston passes ball to Mainini

ISTANBUL (FIBA World Congress) – Outgoing FIBA President Bob Elphinston passed the ball to his successor Yvan Mainini at a press conference on Monday in Istanbul, Turkey.

Mainini, the President of the French Basketball Federation (FFBB) since 1992, was unanimously elected as the 11th FIBA President.

According to the principle of continental rotation and with statutes limiting the term of office to one four-year period, the FIBA Presidency was passed over to a European in 2010. Mainini was nominated for the presidency by the FIBA Europe General Assembly in Munich, Germany in May.

While Elphinston’s term in office comes to a close, he will stay involved with FIBA as President of the International Basketball Foundation (IBF) which is overseeing the constructions of state-of-the-art headquarters for basketball’s governing body in the community of Mies, on the shores of Lake Geneva in Switzerland. He will also be President of FIBA Oceania, a position he has held before.

“The opportunity to be President of FIBA was truly a remarkable one. One does not often get to be president of a federation, especially not one as highly reputable as FIBA,” he said, reflecting on the last four years since being elected at the 18th FIBA World Congress in Tokyo, Japan.

“Basketball is the second most popular sport in the world and FIBA is one of the best administered federations in the world. Being president was a real privilege.

“When I came in, my goal was to help continue to raise the profile of the game. We have done so and the proof of that is that basketball was the second most watched sport behind athletics at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.”

The Australian, who has an impressive career in sports administration, expressed his pleasure with the progression that had taken place in most aspects during his presidency.

“The quality of our events is on the rise as is the quality of the competition and of the organisation as we witnessed here in Turkey,” he explained.

“These world championships are being broadcasted in 175 countries and 140 will cover the Women’s event which gets under way in two weeks time.”

He was particularly pleased with the great strides that had been made in growing the game at youth level.

“At the Youth Olympic Games in Singapore, our 3on3 tournament was what everyone wanted to see. It sold out every session,” he recalled.

“We also had our first-ever U17 World Championship events for boys and girls in Hamburg and France respectively and those proved to be extremely successful.”

While Elphinston sees everything pointing in the right direction, he believes there is more work to be done and that Mainini is the perfect person for the job.

“We are not at the top of the ladder yet. We are still climbing and Yvan Mainini is perfectly placed to help FIBA. He has all the right credentials and all the relevant experience, having steered the French Federation to being one of the best organised in the world.”

Mainini plans on working closely with Elphinston as well as FIBA Vice President Horatio Muratore of Argentina.

“The three of us can work together and closely because we have good connections having known each other for some time,” the former French Basketball Federation (FFBB) President said.

“I also have a close connection with Patrick as I got on FIBA’s Central Board in 1994 which is when he joined FIBA.

“I come into this job wanting to build the sport. I have been passionate about the sport since I was young and I want to use that passion to make a stronger FIBA.”

Asked what main goals he had set out for his term, Mainini outlined a few.

“I hope that we can have all the best players available for the next World Championship. It is very valuable for FIBA’s image,” he stressed.

“Also the building of the new headquarters is a big initiative and it is important to have a new spirit for the youth World Championships, one of peace and friendship.

“We need to find new ways of developing the sport and the 3on3 for sure is one way. We must be a leader in this.”

FIBA

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