FRA - FIBA congratulate French Federation and LOC on successful staging of U17 event

RODEZ (FIBA U17 World Championship for Women) - On Tuesday evening, FIBA President Bob Elphinston and Secretary General and member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Patrick Baumann congratulated the French Basketball Federation and the Local Organising Committee (LOC) on the success of the first-ever FIBA U17 World Championship for Women.

At a press conference in Rodez in the company of FFBB President Yvan Mainini, Mr Elphinston said everything he had seen in his time in Toulouse and Rodez had been of high standards.

"I'm pleased to have the opportunity to attend the first FIBA U17 World Championship for Women," he said. "I went to Germany a couple of weeks ago (for the FIBA U17 World Championship for Men in Hamburg) and it was a great success, very well organised. I was happy about that.

"I have been here a few days and I must say it's been an outstanding success too. The French Federation has done a very good job in selecting Toulouse and Rodez as the two venues for this championship. These cities are of excellent quality to welcome girls in this age group. The internal organisation is of high quality too.

"I would like to thank the cities and the French Federation for their excellent organisation and I look forward to the final on Sunday."

Mr Baumann said this tournament would go a long way to help promote women's basketball.

"In France, 40 percent of players with a license are women and girls, which shows that they are very successful," he explained. "It's very promising for the future and maybe there will be a senior World Championship in France soon."

"It's interesting to see the technical and mental level at this age," he said. "Of course the Americans are very strong physically but it's in their culture, they are very talented. But there are other very good teams, like China and Belgium have done very well in Toulouse."

Mr Mainini expressed his gratitude to those working tirelessly behind the scenes to make this tournament possible and, so far, a success by all accounts.

"Mr Vincent Bonnefous, president of the local basketball club of Rodez and all the local authorities worked together to give birth to this project," he said. "It was not easy to organise, it was a beautiful challenge and they've done it, with success. Well done to them."

Mr Elphinston also paid tribute to the innovative thinking behind the tournament, in particular its bid to help and respect the environment as well as its activities to get kids involved.

"I would like to congratulate athe Federation and the city authorities for the approach taken. They gave the emphasis on the eco-label "Agenda 21", as well as the Basket village, which are excellent initiatives for young athletes."

FIBA/LOC