Andreas Zagklis explained why Asia will host 3rd FIBA World Cup in a row / News - Basketnews.com

FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis argued that even though the FIBA Basketball World Cup will be held in Asia for 3rd time in a row, Qatar offers a different market and part of Asia.

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis held his end-of-the-year press conference with media members, covering plenty of topics.

One of them was the FIBA Basketball World Cup hosting. After Qatar was announced as the host of the FIBA World Cup in 2027, it became official that for the 3rd time in a row, Asia will be hosting the most prestigious basketball competition.

It will be the first time since the 1950s when the FIBA World Cup was organized in the same continent at least 3 times in a row. Previously, from 1950 to 1967, five FIBA World Cups were hosted in South America.

Meanwhile, from 2019 in China to 2027 in Qatar, the FIBA World Cup will be hosted in Asia. FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis gave a detailed answer about the situation.

"I like this historical analogy very much," Zagklis began his answer to BasketNews question. "I must say, the Americas are similar to Asia [and] they are so big. I think your 50s analogy makes sense partly because it was 3 times [actually, 5] in a row in South America. It would make full sense if it would go 3 times in a row in East Asia."

"The Central Board opened a process that was inspired by the IOC process, being more flexible, giving three potential Central Board meetings to countries that wanted to bid.

There's no secret that we were looking at either the Western part of Asia, or Europe, or Americas or something new from Africa. Perhaps, Africa is not ready yet, we discussed this, but we have bigger and bigger arenas in Africa and bigger and bigger organizational capacities.

Qatar came with a bid that complied with what the Central Board had set up. I find the market analogy in commercial terms [China, Japan, Indonesia, and the Philippines compared to Qatar] not successful. I think it's a different market. I think it's the first time in the Arabic world for us. It is the first time in the West part of Asia.

Yes, in terms of the FIBA continental split, it is the same continent, but we are very comfortable to apply that it is a big difference. It is again in Asia but in a very different model.

Instead of 8 cities in China with a lot of transfers, instead of 3 countries with a new multi-country model comes the model with 32 teams in the same place. So, whenever your team qualifies, you just book your tickets. I think it was an important aspect in selecting this candidacy. Also, the fact that Qatar has the venues.

In China, there were two venues built. There was also a built venue in Okinawa, while in Indonesia, the venue was finished 2-3 months before the event. A different proposition overall, partly a different market. I think I'm explaining that 3-4 elements played a part in the decision of the Central Board," Zagklis said.

The 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Qatar will be held from August 27 to September 12, 2027.

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