A draw will be held ahead of the competition where the teams will discover their path to hoisting the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup trophy on January 31, 2025 at 12.00 PM (GMT +1) in at the Olympic Museum Auditorium in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Draw Principles
The participating teams of the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2025 have been distributed in four pots created to reflect the strength of the continents regarding the current FIBA World Ranking Boys, presented by Nike and the results of the previous FIBA U18 continental competitions 2024.
The pots are as follows: POT 1: Switzerland, USA, Germany, Serbia POT 2: Australia, Slovenia, Argentina, Israel POT 3: France, New Zealand, Canada, Dominican Republic POT 4: Mali, China, Cameroon, Jordan
The teams from each pot will be distributed in four groups and assigned competition numbers.
There will be a maximum of 1 team from Africa, Americas and Asia/Oceania in the same group.
There will be a minimum of 1 and maximum of two teams from Europe in the same group.
French basketball legend Antoine Rigaudeau to perform the draw
Former French national team star Antoine Rigaudeau will be performing the draw on stage.
Rigaudeau played for France's national team when it captured silver at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. He also helped France to third place at the FIBA EuroBasket 2005. The former star guard played at five EuroBaskets in total.
Rigaudeau, who made a total of 128 appearances for the French national team, won major European club competitions with Virtus Bologna, as well as two Italian league titles and the French league title in 1996 with Pau-Orthez.
He will be assisted on stage by Sarah Atcho-Jaquier and Jonathan Kazadi. Sarah Atcho-Jaquier is a Swiss sprinter who has competed in major international events. She participated in the 4 × 100 meters relay at the 2015 World Championships, the 2016 Summer Olympics, and the 2017 World Championships.
Jonathan Kazadi is a Swiss basketball player. The guard plays for Fribourg Olympic in the Swiss Basketball League. He has been a key player for the Switzerland national team from 2010 to 2024. He was particularly good in the 2017 FIBA EuroBasket Pre-Qualifiers, averaging more than 15 points per game with an efficiency rating above 20.