The success of the Fiba Under 17 World Championship at Dubai has opened up the possibility of the UAE, along with other Gulf nations, sharing the hosting of the Fiba World Cup, according to the organisation’s president Yvan Mannini.
Mannini said he had been impressed by the UAE’s hosting ability of the youth tournament but considered that the adult tournament, which consists of 32 teams rather than 16 at Under 17 level, too big to be held in the country on its own.
“I say for the future, everything is possible,” said Mannini, who will step down from his role with the international basketball governing body next month. “First, I do think it’s very difficult for the UAE to organise [the World Cup] alone. It may be possible with some other country in the Gulf.
“There are now 32 teams in the final round of the World Cup, which is maybe too big for a country like UAE.
“You can maybe do something together. It’s a very interesting thing to have a good network around Dubai and have something like this.”
While he said that the UAE could host Fiba’s pinnacle event with a partner country, such as Qatar, Mannini added that with what he has seen at the Under 17 tournament, other, larger Fiba events could be held at Dubai’s Hamdan Sports Complex.
“I am sure that the UAE will be a good organisation for the future of Fiba. When I saw a venue like this, I think we can do something more,” he said.
The spacious Hamdan Sports Complex, with its giant video scoreboard and court built over a swimming pool, has had the feel of a scaled-down version of the US NCAA tournament Final Four, which often takes place at NFL stadiums.
“We hope that we showed the world what we did for Fiba, to organise this in Dubai. We brought everybody together,” UAE basketball federation president Ismail Al Qarqawi said. “This is, we hope, not the last time we provide this kind of international basketball, but is the beginning.
“We do our best to have a good relation with Fiba and we want to participate in all the international activities of Fiba – clinics for coaches or referees, technical, matches, whatever.
“We are ready, we are open to benefit from all this activity with international basketball.”
The latest staging of the Fiba World Cup, the 17th, begins on August 30 in Spain and runs until September 14.
Mannini named the Philippines as another place that could host a tournament.
“If somebody organises in a good way, if somebody can do the same in South Africa or the Philippines, then there’s no problem,” he said.
“The Philippines is very interested in this, we can go to this country, no problem.”
Mannini said the Middle East was a prime target for growth in the sport and outlined how basketball could take root in the region.
“This area, I think we are working very hard [to grow the game], not directly but indirectly,” he said of Fiba’s plans. I think for example, the three-on-three tournaments are very good practice for these countries.
“I am confident that all these federations from this area are very interested in basketball. I think that the most important thing is the pupils, the youths, are playing in the schools and so on. After some years we can grow.
“The most important thing is to have a good number of players. Just now, there is not a very big number of players – we must have more.
“In this case we can progress and grow, we can have better local championships and we can build something.
“We must go step by step, we cannot think we can do everything like this,” Mannini said, snapping his fingers. “It’s not possible.”
Looking beyond this region’s ties to basketball, the outgoing president hinted at global basketball’s long-term future. He highlighted the organisation’s Calendar 2017 project, an ambitious restructuring of the international schedule, as the body attempts to make its World Cup a more recognised and admired event, to perhaps even rival basketball at the Olympics, the premier forum for the game.
Mannini said Fiba is “not a bank, it’s not a very rich federation”.
But Calendar 2017 is incorporating more input from the NBA, which will send a representative to Fiba’s central board.
Mark Tatum, the new NBA deputy commissioner to new commissioner Adam Silver, has shown a keen interest in building basketball, and the NBA brand, globally.
He will join the Fiba board.
“We have a very close relationship with the NBA,” Mannini said.
“We are working very hard on this. It’s very important to see a close relation.”
jraymond@thenational.ae
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