PR N°52 - FIBA sets out to face the future united following conclusion of World Congress

SEVILLA - A total of 118 national federations attended the 20th World Congress and underlined the need to ensure all of world basketball's stakeholders are on the same page to face the future united.

Before the attention turned to the main priorities for the 2014-2019 cycle, outgoing FIBA President Yvan Mainini reflected on all the work carried out by FIBA under his leadership during the past term of office (2010-2014). In particular he highlighted the fact that excellent progress has been made with regards to the four strategic pillars FIBA has embarked on in 2010: the completion of the House of Basketball became a reality in the spring of 2013; the implementation of a new calendar and system of competition comes into effect in 2017; 3x3 has grown across the globe since the inaugural 2010 Youth Olympic Games with its very own, dedicated competition network; and substantial changes were brought to FIBA's Governance at the Extraordinary World Congress in Istanbul back in March 2014.

Mr Mainini emphasised the decision taken in Turkey: "A few months ago, the Extraordinary World Congress in Istanbul resulted in a landmark change in the culture of our association, comparable in terms of impact with that of the famous agreement between Borislav Stankovic and David Stern that opened the path for professional NBA players to compete at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games. FIBA will continue with its structural consolidation, but our principle assets will always be a solid base and growing popularity. Our main strength consists in having 214 National Basketball Federations spread throughout the world."

The National Member Federations fully used of the new and extended powers granted to them following the Extraordinary World Congress to elect members of the Central Board for the 2014-2019 term of office. Horacio Muratore (Argentina) was elected by acclamation to succeed Mr Mainini as new FIBA President, with Ingo Weiss (Germany) taking over the role of Treasurer. Along with FIBA Secretary General and International Olympic Committee (IOC) Member Patrick Baumann, they were joined by 12 other elected members. Elections were held for the first time via an electronic system.

The World Congress also adopted further changes to the FIBA General Statutes in order to strengthen the organisation in view of future challenges and strategic growth opportunities.

Mr Baumann cast his eyes toward the future, with two major goals in mind.

The first is to have one, united FIBA and to grow the game beyond the traditional basketball countries.

He said: "Within the spirit of building a united world basketball family, a particular attention will be given over the next years to domestic and international leagues ensuring that they operate under the umbrella of FIBA and that of its member federations and fully participate in FIBA’ decision making processes. The inclusion, for the first time, of the NBA in the FIBA Central Board is a strong signal for these new times and for FIBA’s move towards an inclusive and participative management model as approved at the Extraordinary Congress in March 2014. We share the same growth ambitions for the sport and for the Basketball World Cup. Similarly, other leagues and clubs should participate in our regional bodies alongside our member national federations. They deserve particular care, so that we can help them to fulfill their responsibilities and objectives within the larger picture of growing the game worldwide. Only together, the sport can grow."

The second one is to assist the development of national federations.

"An essential part of this will be the new competition system which becomes operational as of 2017," Mr Baumann explained. "This will deliver a new dimension for basketball with about 140 countries participating in a coordinated way in the system that will lead to the next World Cup in 2019. This requires a lot of efforts to bring many countries up to speed in terms of administration, sport facilities and technical support. The new roles given to the Regional Offices (former Zones) will see those more on the ground to deliver these much needed development tools.

"Finally, the next cycle is also seen as crucial to strengthening the foundations of 3x3, FIBA's exciting discipline which has Olympic aspirations and ambitions. This is a strong discipline that helps bringing new countries to the forefront of international basketball activities at a much more (cost-)efficient pace and with its urban, young and modern attributes, it targets a different, attractive and much larger audience than our core basketball game does."

Awards were bestowed upon all of the outgoing Central Board members. Mr Manfred Stroher, who served FIBA as its Treasurer for the past 20 years, was made Honorary Treasurer and Mr Yvan Mainini was made an Honorary President for his exceptional contribution to FIBA during his presidential tenure.

The two-day event also saw reports being presented by the International Basketball Foundation (IBF), the World Association of Basketball Coaches (WABC) and the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) to highlight their achievements from the 2010-2014 period. The Deaf International Basketball Federation (DIBF) was officially recognized by the Congress.

The new FIBA Central will meet for the first time on 13 September in Madrid to complete its composition and initiate the work for the new term of office.

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About FIBA
FIBA (fiba.com) - the world governing body for basketball - is an independent association formed by 214 National Basketball Federations throughout the world. It is recognised as the sole competent authority in basketball by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

For further information about FIBA visit fiba.com or follow FIBA on facebook.com/fiba, twitter.com/fiba and youtube.com/fiba.