Morocco ace Zouita welcomes New Competition System

RABAT (FIBA AfroBasket 2017) - Morocco international Abdelhakim Zouita has never been shy when expressing his opinion on how basketball is run in his country.

Following last year's FIBA AfroBasket in Tunisia - where the Moroccans proved to be very competitive despite finishing with a 1-4 record, the 30-year-old forward urged stakeholders to make the most of the country's basketball talent.

"When we play the AfroBasket Zone 1 qualifiers at home, our fans go crazy. They sing they cheer, they make a big party in the stands. Hopefully, with the new model they can continue to come and support us." - Zouita

Now, with the implementation of FIBA's New Competition System coming into effect in just over a year's time, the AS Sale ace feels there is a lot to look forward to with anticipation.

Earlier this month, FIBA Africa visited the North African country to explain the new system.

Zouita hasn't had any feedback from the federation yet but did his research and knows what his country can draw from this revolutionary change.

"If everything I've read on the internet is true, then this will change the basketball landscape in Morocco," he told FIBA.com. "I suppose it'll be a good thing for basketball in Morocco as we will be able to compete for one of the five places for the World Cup."

Zouita had the highest field goal shooting percentage of any player at FIBA AfroBasket 2015 (58.9 percent)

Under the new system, national teams will play regular home and away games during a four-year cycle (2017-2021) to qualify for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 and the FIBA Continental Cups two years later.

Additionally, the number of participating teams in the FIBA Basketball World Cup will increase from 24 to 32, with Africa being allocated five places instead of three.

"Honestly, I would prefer to play the AfroBasket every two years rather than every four years but I also understand that the new system will allow the national team to become more popular," the 1.99m forward said.

"Playing for the national three or four times in one year is going to be challenging because it never happened before, but clubs and federation will need to work together."

Zouita went on: "When we play the FIBA AfroBasket Zone 1 qualifiers at home, our fans go crazy. They sing, they cheer, they make a big party in the stands. Hopefully, with the new model they can continue to come and support us. With so many national team games during the year, hopefully, our games can be televised."

FIBA