FIBA - More to 2014 FIBA World C'ship for Women than action on court

MIES (FIBA World Championship for Women) - The 2014 FIBA World Championship for Women in Turkey is still some nine months away, but there is no shortage of excitement in the build-up to the tournament that will take Istanbul and Ankara by storm from 27 September to 5 October - and it is not only because of the action that will take place on the courts.

You can find out more about the 2014 FIBA World Championship for Women and all the activities around it by going to the tournament's official website fiba.com/turkey2014.

Before the championship tips off, there are a number of events to look forward.

The festivities will get underway in earnest when the draw takes place on 8 March 2014, also known as International Women's Day, when women are celebrated all over the world.

Angola, Australia, Belarus, Brazil, Canada, China, Cuba, Czech Republic, France, Japan, Korea, Mozambique, Serbia, Spain, hosts Turkey and defending champions USA are the 16 teams that will go into the hat on that day.

FIBA and the Turkish Basketball Federation (TBF) will settle for nothing less than delivering a first class event that is worthy of all of the competitors and which can show girls in Turkey and beyond that basketball can help them to become strong and successful women.

An important part of this, is the 'PASS IT ON' programme, the TBF's social responsibility and legacy programme tied into the tournament. The goal of 'PASS IT ON' is to pass on the values of basketball to as many people as possible: players, parents, coaches, schools and telling the stories of how basketball can change lives.

The centerpiece of the PASS IT ON campaign will be Camp PASS IT ON, scheduled for 11–17 August 2014, which will see one coach and two 14-year-old players (one boy and one girl) from more than one hundred countries invited to Istanbul. By bringing together athletes and coaches within a multicultural environment TBF will show the global impact of basketball, changing the lives of young people from around the world.

But the initiative will go well beyond a one-week camp as leaders from Turkish sport, business and politics will be called upon to serve as PASS IT ON Ambassadors and to promote the FIBA World Championship for Women and the value of basketball.

At the FIBA World Championship itself, time will be taken to honour some of the trailblazers of women’s basketball, without whom the game could have never reached its present heights.

FIBA and the TBF have past experience of teaming up for impactful social responsibility and legacy programme. In 2010, when the FIBA World Championship (now the FIBA Basketball World Cup) took place in Turkey, the TBF hosted the Children of the World Camp, where hundreds of children and their coaches from around the world spent one week playing basketball and learning about team work, respect and cultural understanding.

Information about tickets as well as accreditation for members of the media will be available on fiba.com/turkey2014 in early 2014.

FIBA