Spanish city of Zaragoza to host 2016 FIBA U17 World Championships; Egypt and Italy to stage 2017 FIBA U19 World Championships

MIES, Switzerland - FIBA's Central Board on Saturday announced that the 2016 FIBA U17 World Championships for Men and Women will take place in Zaragoza, Spain and also revealed the hosts of the 2017 FIBA U19 World Championships.

The Egyptian capital of Cairo will be the backdrop of next year's FIBA U19 World Championship, the first-ever FIBA world youth men's event staged in Africa. Meanwhile, the Italian cities of Udine and Cividale Del Friuli will host the FIBA U19 Women's World Championship.

This summer's FIBA U17 World Championships for Men and Women will be played jointly for the first time ever - as part of a youth world basketball festival - from 22 June-3 July. This comes after FIBA endorsed the Spanish Basketball Federation (FEB)'s proposal of having a unique and innovative sporting event that combines all the elements most attractive to youth basketball players - competition, fun, shared experience, music and technology.

The young players from 16 men's and 16 women's national teams - and united by the excitement of basketball - will have the opportunity to be part of a diverse community, sharing experiences with people of the same age group from different cultures and backgrounds

Here are the countries that qualified and will compete in the 2016 FIBA U17 World Championships for Men and Women:

MEN (23 June-3 July)
Host: Spain
Africa: Egypt, Mali
Americas: USA, Canada, Argentina, Dominican Republic
Asia: Korea, Chinese Taipei, China
Europe: Bosnia & Herzegovina, Lithuania, Turkey, France, Finland
Oceania: Australia

WOMEN (22 June-2 July)
Host: Spain
Africa: Mali, Nigeria
Americas: Canada, Brazil, USA, Mexico
Asia: China, Japan, Korea
Europe: Czech Republic, Portugal, Italy, Latvia, France
Oceania: Australia

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FIBA (fiba.com) - the world governing body for basketball - is an independent association formed by 215 National Basketball Federations throughout the world. It is recognised as the sole competent authority in basketball by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
 
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