Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca welcomed at the Victoria Palace, on Tuesday, Secretary General of the International Basketball Federation Andreas Zagklis, who was on an official visit at the invitation of the President of the Romanian Basketball Federation, Carmen Tocala. During the talks, the Prime Minister conveyed Romania's intention to join the list of states that want to host, in Bucharest, a group of the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup.
According to a Government's release, the main topics on the agenda of the meeting referred to the organization by Romania, in October, of the World Youth 3x3 Basketball Championship, as well as the preparation and organization of the 2027 Men's Basketball World Cup.
"We especially appreciate Romania's designation as the host country for the World Youth 3x3 Basketball Championships in October this year. I understand that this 3x3 basketball game was introduced last year at the Tokyo Olympics and I congratulate Romanian Basketball Federation for its presence at this Olympic first. Romania wants to become an active partner in the projects that FIBA will start in the field of research, sports medicine, communication, marketing or planning. It is very important that we can benefit from your expertise in the development of this sport, both in the programs and at the institutional level," Prime Minister Ciuca said.
In the same context, the Chief Executive thanked the Secretary General of FIBA for his support of the Romanian Basketball Federation.
"Thank you for your support to the Romanian Basketball Federation and sports in general. I, personally, together with the team I lead, are supporters of the sport, we encourage and support its development and practice," said Ciuca.
The release also states that this year marks 90 years since Romania became a founding member of the International Basketball Federation, along with seven other states: Greece, Italy, Argentina, Switzerland, Portugal and Czechoslovakia.
At the basketball level, Romania hosted the European Junior Championships organized every year, but also the European Championship in 2015 (women's, Timisoara and Oradea) and 2017 (men's, Cluj-Napoca).
The World Basketball Championship is held every 4 years, with the 2023 edition to be held in Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia. At this moment, the application process for hosting the FIBA World Cup 2027 has opened, Agerpres informs.
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