Lithuania - Basketball fans lobby FIBA for wild card

From www.alfa.lt
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After turning in an uncharacteristically less-than-stellar year on the hardwood, the Lithuanian men's basketball team's only chance of playing at next year's World Championships in Turkey rides on a decision by FIBA to grant it a wild card spot.

An ad-hoc lobby group led by long-bearded Tomas Balaisis – Lithuania's top unofficial basketball fan, widely known as Se.kla ('Seed') – is sending a letter to officials at basketball's international governing body pleading for Lithuania to be granted one of four wild card entries.

"As you know, in Lithuania, basketball is the most important and most popular sport," the letter reads. "It draws legions of fans to arenas in Lithuania and abroad."

"This whole country lives from one championship to the next. The entire world already knows about Lithuania's colourful, slightly mad, loud, drum-beating fans. Most basketball-lovers from other countries envy us our great numbers."

Mindaugas Balciunas, head of the Lithuanian Basketball Federation, said Lithuanian fans are "the best and the best-organised in the world."

"The fans are one of the biggest arguments (for our cause), along with our rich tradition and Lithuania's hosting of the 2011 European Championships," Balciunas said.

Lithuania needs 500,000 euros to back its bid to play in Turkey, and it is still unclear where the money will come from.

"If FIBA's main criterion is financial, then Lithuania has few chances," one member of the lobby group told Alfa.lt
Great Britain, Italy, Russia, and Germany are said to be among the other European nations vying for one of the four available spots.