ABIDJAN (Côte d'Ivoire) - The FIBA Regional Office for Africa, the Côte d'Ivoire Minister of Sports and the Fédération Ivoirienne de Basket-Ball (FIBB) signed on Friday 17 January the agreement to host the 2025 FIBA Women's AfroBasket in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire.
The ceremony took place at the headquarters of the country's Ministry of Sports in Abidjan.
The 27th edition of the Women's AfroBasket will be held in Côte d'Ivoire's largest city from 25 July to 3 August.
The agreement was signed by Silas Adjé Metch, Minister of Sports of Cote d'Ivoire, Alphonse Bilé, Executive Director of the FIBA Regional Office for Africa, and Moussa Diarra, President of the Ivorian Basketball Federation (FIBB).
Commenting on Côte d'Ivoire's hosting rights, Silas Adjé Metch said: "We are honoured to sign the agreement awarding the organisation of the 27th edition of the Women's AfroBasket to Côte d'Ivoire.
"We thank FIBA Africa for choosing our country. Rest assured, Mr Secretary General of FIBA Africa, that the government of Côte d'Ivoire will do everything in its power to make this event one of the best ever. After hosting the AFCON in January and February last year, Côte d'Ivoire continues to host major competitions such as the AFCON U20, which will take place this year, and the Women's AfroBasket.
"Côte d'Ivoire's ambition is to take part in all international competitions in all sports. But for now, we're going to concentrate on the Women's AfroBasket because Côte d'Ivoire can't afford to take a step back. We have to shine as a national team," Adjé Metch pointed out.
In the same line, Alphonse Bilé praised the words and commitment of his counterpart, saying: "I would like to thank Côte d'Ivoire, my [home] country, for agreeing to host the Women's AfroBasket 2025. This agreement is important because it marks the official start of the organisation of the competition. We're in the process of ensuring that this competition becomes the flagship event on the continent."
Bilé continued: "There are the men [competition], of course, but I want this to be a flagship event because we know that African women's basketball can grow much faster in the world than men's basketball. In men's basketball, there are too many big teams, the USA and many others. It's very difficult to compete at that level, whereas with women's basketball we think we have a much better chance of becoming a force to be reckoned with."
Meanwhile, Moussa Diarra reaffirmed his federation's commitment, noting: "It's a pleasure and an honour to confirm that Côte d'Ivoire will indeed host the 27th edition of the Women's AfroBasket. We're well aware of the challenges involved and we're currently working to build the best women's national team in Côte d'Ivoire.
"We are facing two major challenges: firstly, to successfully organise this important event and secondly, from a sporting point of view, to ensure the best possible representation for our country. From now on, we're going to work on setting up a local organising committee that is up to the level of the event and reflects the best possible image of Côte d'Ivoire," Diarra observed.
Côte d'Ivoire has hosted a number of continental competitions in recent years, including a window for the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup African Qualifiers, Road to BAL Elite 16 West Division (2023 and 2024), but this is the first time the country has hosted a Women's AfroBasket.
FIBA