FIBA confident of spectacular 2027 Basketball World Cup in Qatar

FIBA

A high-level International Basketball Federation (FIBA) delegation – which has been a two-day operational planning and inspection visit of the world-class venues that will host the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 in Qatar – on Tuesday highly praised the sports facilities of Qatar and said that the country would host a distinctive and exceptional version of FIBA World Cup 2027 and for the first time in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region.

The delegation also praised Doha’s success in hosting many international tournaments in recent years and most notably the recent stupendous success of FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022.

The views were expressed at a press conference at the 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum, on the sidelines of the tour of the FIBA delegation. It was attended by FIBA President Hamane Niang, President of Qatar Basketball Federation Mohammed Saad Almeghaiseeb, FIBA Secretary-General Andreas Zagklis and Fahad Juma, Director of Strategy and Projects Department at the Qatar Olympic Committee.

FIBA President Hamane Niang expressed his confidence in the success of Qatar in hosting the FIBA World Cup finals four years from now, especially since the sports facilities are already present and have international standards and high operational efficiency.

“We are very happy and excited to be coming to the Gulf region for the first time to host the FIBA World Cup. I want to thank the Qatar Olympic Committee, Qatar Basketball Federation and the Qatari authorities for their hospitality and the quality of reception,” Niang said.

Niang explained that although the Basketball World Cup will be held this year in Japan and Indonesia, FIBA is excited and looking forward to seeing the Qatari people welcome the World Cup in 2027 on a four-year journey. “I unanimously agree that basketball is a team sport, and that the principles and values of this sport should be spread to youth and future generations.”

President of Qatar Basketball Federation Mohammed Saad Almeghaiseeb, said, “Preparations are in full swing in Doha to host an exceptional version of the FIBA World Cup 2027, which will add to Qatar’s record of hosting major world championships in various sports and the Qatar Basketball Association is looking forward to hosting the most prominent stars. The FIBA World Cup 2027 is a version in which the city of Doha pledges to write a new history of basketball.”

FIBA Secretary-General Andreas Zagklis, opined the FIBA World Cup coming to Qatar and the MENA region underlines the decision of the board. “We have a very committed federation (Qatar Basketball) and (Qatar) Olympic Committee that is extremely supportive,” he said.

“After eight cities in China and three countries in 2023, Philippines, Japan and Indonesia, the 2027 World Cup will be an entirely different proposition for our fans. First, because we’re coming to a city that has extraordinary accessibility in terms of flights from around the world as well as a very compact World Cup, where all 32 teams will be in the same city. And I would say this is the dream of every basketball fan to wake up in the morning and have the opportunity to watch several games of the best players in the world,” he stressed.

Zagklis also said that all the venues for the FIBA World Cup 2027 were inspected and approved by the visiting delegation. These venues include: Lusail Multipurpose Hall, Duhail Sports Hall, Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiyah Arena, Qatar Basketball Federation Arena and the Aspire Academy – which will also be used for training and other facilities.

For his part, Fahad Juma, Director of Strategy and Projects Department at the Qatar Olympic Committee, confirmed that the public plan is an essential part of the master plan to host major tournaments in Qatar, and that just as the world has shown the unprecedented public success in the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, we have an opportunity. It is great to invest these successes and plans in cooperation with local institutions and Qatar Tourism to attract fans, whether from the region or abroad, to make the 2027 Basketball World Cup in Qatar a success, especially as it is the second most popular sport in the world after football.

He explained that we are currently in the first phase of the master plan for fans, which is related to marketing and promoting the Basketball World Championship, in cooperation with FIBA, noting that the Basketball World Cup is not a three-week tournament only, but rather a tournament that has already started since the moment the Qatar won the hosting rights.

Qatar was awarded the honour of hosting the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 by the FIBA Central Board at its meeting in the Philippines capital, Manila, on 28th April 2023.

Qatar was selected based on the readiness of world-class competition venues, its commitment to sport as a platform for realizing national development goals and its enthusiasm to continue the development of basketball at all levels locally. Furthermore, Qatar’s celebrated portfolio of mega-sport event hosting gave FIBA the confidence to confirm the decision without hesitation.