FIBA Europe Board approves hosts for FIBA European Youth and Small Countries Championships
MIES (Switzerland) - The FIBA Europe Board, term of office 2023-27, concluded its second meeting in Mies, Switzerland on Friday.
The session was chaired by FIBA Europe President Jorge Garbajosa, while FIBA President Sheikh Saud Ali Al Thani, FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis and FIBA Executive Director Europe Kamil Novak were all in attendance.
This is the first time that the European Board convened in the House of Basketball, marking a historic occasion, something that was reflected in the welcome speeches of both FIBA President and Secretary General.
In a session headlined by the approval of Finland and Lithuania as FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2027 hosts, the Board also confirmed the hosts for the Youth and Small Countries events and made important decisions regarding FIBA EuroBasket 2025 and 2029, among other topics.
FIBA European Youth and Small Countries Championships 2024
With some hosts assigned already last year, the delegates approved the remaining hosts of the 2024 FIBA European Youth and Small Countries Championships, also confirming the early designations for the summer of 2025.
The Board also approved the recommendation by the Youth Commission to cancel the reservation of a spot for Russia and Belarus teams and revert to the normal relegation and promotion system (three teams go up from Division B and three get relegated from Division A); it also approved a proposal to unify the branding of Youth Championships.
The hosts for the 2024 events are as follows:
YOUTH - MEN
| EVENT | DATES | LOCATION |
| FIBA U20 European Championship | July 13-21 | Gdynia, POL |
| FIBA U20 European Championship, Division B | July 12-21 | Pitesti, ROU |
| FIBA U18 European Championship | July 27 - August 4 | Tampere, FIN |
| FIBA U18 European Championship, Division B | July 26 - August 4 | Skopje, MKD |
| FIBA U18 European Championship, Division C | July 23-28 | Elbasan, ALB |
| FIBA U16 European Championship | August 9-17 | Heraklion, GRE |
| FIBA U16 European Championship, Division B | August 8-17 | Skopje, MKD |
| FIBA U16 European Championship, Division C | July 9-14 | Durres, ALB |
YOUTH - WOMEN
| EVENT | DATES | LOCATION |
| FIBA U20 Women's European Championship | July 6-14 | Klaipeda & Vilnius, LTU |
| FIBA U20 Women's European Championship, Division B | July 6-14 | Sofia, BUL |
| FIBA U18 Women's European Championship | August 3-11 | Matosinhos, POR |
| FIBA U18 Women's European Championship, Division B | August 2-11 | Ploiesti, ROU |
| FIBA U18 Women's European Championship, Division C | July 23-28 | Pristina, KOS |
| FIBA U16 Women's European Championship | August 16-24 | Miskolc, HUN |
| FIBA U16 Women's European Championship, Division B | August 15-24 | Konya, TUR |
| FIBA U16 Women's European Championship, Division C | July 9-14 | Gibraltar, GIB |
SMALL COUNTRIES
| EVENT | DATES | LOCATION |
| FIBA European Championship for Small Countries | June 25-30 | Andorra la Vella, AND |
| FIBA Women's European Championship for Small Countries | June 25-30 | Pristina, KOS |
The early designations for the FIBA European Youth Championships 2025 are as follows:
| EVENT | LOCATION |
| FIBA U20 European Championship | Heraklion, GRE |
| FIBA U18 European Championship, Division C | Durres, ALB |
FIBA EuroBasket 2025
The Board formally approved the request by the four hosts (Cyprus, Finland, Poland and Latvia) to choose a partner National Federation, a tradition established back in 2015.
The partner country will be placed in the same group as the host country but cannot be from the same seeds in terms of the Draw.
FIBA EuroBasket 2029
The bid for countries interested in hosting FIBA EuroBasket 2029 will open with an invitation for letters of interest in April 2024, with the hosts assigned in June or July 2025.
Other matters and competition updates
In other matters, Mr. Zagklis outlined the FIBA strategy for the coming years and, among others, presented a short report with figures confirming the unprecedented success of FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023, where Germany were crowned world champions for the first time in history.
In his report, Mr. Novak offered information on a new Erasmus+ project, Hoops for Schools.
The Board also heard the reports by the Treasurer Grzegorz Bachanski and the various Commission chairs.
There were reviews of FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2023 as well as running reports on the Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournaments and upcoming Qualifying Tournaments, the FIBA Women's EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers, the FIBA EuroBasket 2025 Qualifiers and Pre-Qualifiers, as well as the FIBA Europe club competitions.
The next Board meeting is scheduled to take place in Gibraltar in March 2024 with the following meeting and the FIBA Europe General Assembly 2024 organized in Slovenia in June next year.
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