Dusseldorf ZOOS to join FIBA 3x3 Women's Series

MIES (Switzerland) - Dusseldorf Zoos becomes the third privately-owned team to join the FIBA 3x3 Women's Series for the 2022 season.

As their first project, ZOOS have partnered with 3x3 Düsseldorf to participate in the FIBA ​​3x3 Women's Series, the world's number one 3x3 women’s professional circuit, as a Japanese-German mixed 3x3 club "Dusseldorf ZOOS".

ZOOS LLC was established on April 1, 2022. The founder and representative is Ms. Aoi Katsura, a 3x3 basketball player from Japan. Their mission is to redesign the sports environment surrounding women.

"By participating in the world's number one 3x3 women’s professional circuit , we will give dreams to children who aspire to 3x3, and we will also promote 3x3 to the upbringing generation," Katsura said,

"In the future, we plan to develop various projects and businesses with the community starting from women's basketball. The policy is to create products that deliver the ZOOS brand message, manage the casual girls basketball community as a lifestyle, and produce and manage female basketball players.

“I declared my retirement when I was in the fourth year of college, but after about eight years, I will make a full-scale comeback in the basketball world. It was the basketball world that I thought I had met all the people I could meet as a player by the age of 22, but the basketball that I touched when I was a student is just one way to enjoy basketball, and the world I do not know yet is expanding. I was shocked by that, and I am crazy about basketball again. I would like to express that there are various basketball forms that can be enjoyed together in various lifestyles and life stages, such as street basketball, 3x3, and the casual girls basketball community. It is also the decision of a 30-year-old woman who realistically imagined her own life that may change in the future. In today's world where diverse lifestyles are touted across genders, I wish I could support diverse lifestyles starting from ZOOS. We want to provide health and affluence to society and communities through women's empowerment. That's the feeling.”

ZOOS has partnered with 3x3 Düsseldorf and formed "Düsseldorf ZOOS", a 3x3 basketball team. With the support of the German Basketball Association and the local government of Dusseldorf, the team will compete in the world with a mixed German-Japanese player formation based in Dusseldorf. 

"The creation of Team Düsseldorf ZOOS is great news for the growth of the FIBA 3x3 Women’s Series. It means more opportunities for female athletes and an increased number of talented players for the fans to watch, in line with one of FIBA’s three strategic pillars: the development of women in basketball", Alex Sanchez, FIBA 3x3 Managing Director, said.

Roster:
Aoi Katsura (JPN)
Yuka Maeda (JPN)
Jennifer Crowder (GER)
Emma Stach (GER)
Ama Degbeon (GER)