COL - 2011 FIBA Americas Championship for Women to be played in Neiva, Colombia

NEIVA (2011 FIBA Americas Championship for Women) – The 2011 FIBA Americas Championship for Women will be played in Neiva, Colombia. The President and the Secretary General of FIBA Americas signed a contract with the Governor of the Department of Huila, Mr. Luis Jorge Sanchez Garcia and the President of the Colombian Basketball Federation, Mr. Jairo Romero.

This tournament qualifies the best team to the 2012 Olympic Games in London and the teams that finish from second to fourth place to the FIBA World Qualifying Tournament that will be played prior to the Olympics.

The venue for the most prestigious women's event in America will be Coliseum Álvaro Sánchez Silva, the same that hosted the 2010 South American Championship.

The Governor of the Department of Huila thanked FIBA Americas for the trust given to the organization of this event to be played in Neiva, capital of Huila which is 200 kilometers south of Bogota.

FIBA Americas President and Vice-President of FIBA, Horacio Muratore, said that the Federation and the government earned this tournament because of the great organization shown in the South American Championship for Men.

The FIBA Americas Secretary General, Alberto Garcia, explained the new format of the tournament that will have ten countries for the first time and it will be like that the rest of the way. The objective is to increase the number of teams to give incentive to practice women's basketball in America.

This tournament, which is scheduled from September 24 until October 1, will have the participation of Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, Jamaica, México, Paraguay and Puerto Rico. There will be two groups of five teams each that will play against each other in the group and the two top teams reach the semifinals and finals. The rest of the teams in the group end their participation in the tournament.

The United States of America, by winning the 2010 FIBA World Championship for Women in the Czech Republic, qualified directly to the Olympics.

The tournament draw will be held at the end of February or at the beginning of March 2011.

FIBA Americas