LAUSANNE (Switzerland) - Jonathan Kazadi anxiously is awaiting the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2025 in his home country and the Switzerland national team guard is excited for the thrilling opportunity his young compatriots will get this summer. He performed the U19 World Cup draw on stage last week.
Switzerland will be hosting the FIBA U19 World Cup in Lausanne from June 28-July 6, 2025, and it will be the first time the Alpine nation is playing at a FIBA World Cup of any age group. The last time Switzerland appeared on the global stage was at the 1952 Olympics. And the last time the Swiss reached a FIBA EuroBasket came in 1955.
The 33-year-old Kazadi has been playing for his country since 2008, including since 2010 for the senior national team. He has spent nearly 15 years trying to get his country back onto at least the continental stage. So he understands what a valuable experience the young generation of Swiss players will have this summer.
An amazing opportunity for the young players
"It's incredible. This is an amazing opportunity for the young players. We never had this chance to play at the highest level. Now, they get to face the best players in the world, the future stars," Kazadi said.
"I just hope they give it their all, and I hope they won't be scared or too timid. That they fight as hard as possible and, most importantly, enjoy the moment. This is a first for Switzerland."
The Bern native said his goal if he were playing would be to give his best effort.
The most important thing is to leave everything on the court
"To challenge these future stars and see where we stand. The most important thing is to leave everything on the court and have no regrets at the end," he said.
Switzerland have been drawn into Group C along with Dominican Republic, Israel and Jordan. And that gives Switzerland a good opportunity for success, Kazadi said.
"I think compared to how the groups could have been, or compared to other groups, we have a less competitive one," Kazadi admitted. "We'll see if there’s an opportunity. I don't really know the strength of this generation of players from the other countries. But who knows?" he said.
"If they get a good result in the first game, anything could happen. We’ll see. But I think we should stay cautious. Personally, I don't think the main objective should be about ranking well in the group stage."
Kazadi's first two summers wearing the national team colors were 2008 and 2009 when he played in the Division B of the FIBA U18 EuroBasket.
"Oh, that was a long time ago. I remember it was cool to play against the best players from other countries: to get a sense of where we stood. We're in a country where basketball isn't at the highest level, so for me, it was great to see the difference between our level in Switzerland and other, more basketball-developed countries. It showed me that, yes, there was a big gap, but in some areas, we weren't as far behind as it seemed," Kazadi said.
Kazadi a year later played started his Swiss senior national team career with the first games in the FIBA EuroBasket 2011, Division B.
"At first, with the senior team, I was the young guy, so I didn't play much. But being on the road with the team, traveling, staying in hotels - that was something I had already experienced with the U18 team. That environment of being with the team during a competition period was something I had already seen at the youth level, and it was exactly the same with the senior team," Kazadi said.
The guard is not only playing for Switzerland in traditional basketball but is also a leader for the country at the 3x3 level. He is ranked 122rd in the world and fifth in 3x3 in the country.
Kazadi is also currently trying to help Switzerland reach the next stage at the senior level, appearing in a game last window of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 European Pre-Qualifiers.
The shooting guard would love to get his country to a place where he can experience something similar to what the younger Swiss players will this summer.
FIBA