FIBA

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International Basketball Federation
Fédération Internationale de Basketball
200
Motto We Are Basketball
Formation June 18, 1932
Type Sport federation
Headquarters Geneva, Switzerland
Membership 213 national federations
Official languages English, French, Spanish, Russian, German1
Secretary General Patrick Baumann
President Bob Elphinston
Key people George Vassilakopoulos, Borislav Stanković, Manfred Ströher
Website http://www.fiba.com

The International Basketball Federation (French: Fédération Internationale de Basketball), more commonly known by the French acronym FIBA (pronounced /ˈfiːbə/ FEE-bə), is an association of national organizations which governs international competition in basketball. Originally known as the Fédération Internationale de Basketball Amateur (hence FIBA), in 1989 it dropped the Amateur from its official name but retained the initialism, because of the first two letters of the word basketball.

The FIBA defines the international rules of basketball, specifies the equipment and facilities required, regulates the transfer of athletes across countries, and controls the appointment of international referees. 214 national federations are now members, organized since 1989 into five zones or "commissions": Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe, and Oceania.

FIBA is a world basketball tournament for men's national teams held quadrennially by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA).

A parallel event for women's teams, the FIBA World Championship for Women, is also held quadrennially, in the same year as the men's event but in a different country.

The champion team wins the Naismith Trophy, which was first awarded in the 1967 tournament.

The tournament structure is similar but not identical to that of the FIFA World Cup; both of these international competitions have been played in the same year since 1970.

Contents

History

Old FIBA logo.
FIBA divides the world into 5 commissions, each roughly based on a continent; North and South America are under one commission.

The association was founded in Geneva in 1932, two years after the sport was officially recognized by the IOC. Its original name was Fédération Internationale de Basketball Amateur. Eight nations were founding members: Argentina, Czechoslovakia, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Portugal, Romania, and Switzerland. During the 1936 Summer Olympics held in Berlin, the Federation named James Naismith (1861-1939), the founder of basketball, as its Honorary President.

FIBA has organized a World Championship for men since 1950 and a World Championship for Women since 1953. Both events are now held every four years, alternating with the Olympics.

In 1989, FIBA opened the door to Olympic participation by professionals such as players from the NBA in the United States. At this point, the Fédération Internationale de Basketball Amateur became the Fédération Internationale de Basketball, but retained FIBA as an abbreviation.

The Federation headquarters moved to Munich in 1956, then returned to Geneva in 2002. Patrick Baumann is the Secretary General of FIBA.

In 1991 it founded FIBA Hall of Fame, the first induction ceremony was held on September 12, 2007 during EuroBasket 2007.

Presidents

Secretaries General

New Tournament

The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) announced that the first edition of the 12-team FIBA U17 World Championship for Men and Women that will be played in July 2010.

Tournaments

Current champions:

National teams

Tournament Men's Women's U-19 Men's U-19 Women's U-17 Men's U-17 Women's
World Championship  Spain  Australia  Serbia  USA
Olympics  USA  USA N/A
Commission Men's Women's U-18 Men's U-18 Women's U-16 Men's U-16 Women's
FIBA Africa  Angola  Mali  Egypt  Mali
FIBA Americas  USA  USA  Argentina  USA
FIBA Asia  Iran  Korea  Iran  Japan
FIBA Europe  Russia  Russia  Greece  Lithuania  Lithuania  Spain
FIBA Oceania  Australia  Australia  Australia  Australia
Commission U-20 Men's U-20 Women's
FIBA Europe  Serbia  Russia
  • FIBA no longer holds Under-21 World Championships and Under-20 Zone Championships, except in Europe. 2

Clubs

FIBA tournament Men's Women's
World Club Championship Upcoming
Americas League Flag of Argentina Peñarol Mar del Plata N/A
Asia Champions Cup Flag of Iran Saba Battery N/A
Africa Cup of Clubs Flag of Angola Primeiro de Agosto N/A
EuroChallenge/EuroLeague Women Flag of Latvia Barons LMT Flag of Russia Spartak Moscow Region
Tournament Men's Women's
NBA/WNBA Flag of the United States Boston Celtics Flag of the United States Phoenix Mercury
Euroleague Flag of Russia CSKA Moscow N/A
ULEB EuroCup Flag of Spain DKV Joventut N/A
Liga Sudamericana Flag of Argentina Regatas N/A
NBL Flag of Australia Melbourne Tigers Flag of Australia Adelaide Lightning

Note: The following competitions are not under the direct control of a FIBA continental confederation:

  • NBA and WNBA: Both leagues are run by the NBA, which is a separate organization which uses a slightly different rule set than FIBA's. The NBA has 29 teams in the USA plus one in Canada, while the WNBA has 14 teams in the USA only.
  • The men's Euroleague is totally controlled by ULEB, a consortium of European domestic and transnational leagues. The ULEB Eurocup, known as the ULEB Cup until the 2008-09 season, is jointly run by ULEB and FIBA Europe, but only the two preliminary rounds of that competition are run by FIBA Europe. Both competitions, however, use FIBA's rule set. (EuroLeague Women, despite the similar name to the men's Euroleague, is run by FIBA Europe.)
  • The NBL and WNBL are separate organizations based in Australia. Both leagues, which use FIBA rules, have teams throughout Australia plus one in New Zealand.

Current & Upcoming Tournaments

Tournament Date Teams
U18 European Championship Men 2008 Division A July 25 - August 3 16
U18 European Championship Men 2008 - Division B July 25 - August 3 20
U20 European Championship Men 2008 Division A August 1 - 10 16
U20 European Championship Men 2008 Division B August 1 - 10 19
U16 European Championship Women 2008 Division A August 8 - 17 16
U16 European Championship Women 2008 Division B August 8 - 17 18
U16 European Championship Men 2008 Division A August 15 - 24 16
U16 European Championship Men 2008 Division B August 15 - 24 23

FIBA World Rankings

Further information: FIBA World Rankings
  • #1 men's team:  Argentina
  • #1 women's team:  USA
  • #1 combined ranking:  USA

References

  1. ^ 2006 General Statutes of FIBA, Article 37.6
  2. ^ Basketball Australia - FIBA will no longer hold world championships in this age group (U21)

External links

Wikipedia content modification information:

  • This page was last modified on 1 December 2008, at 15:56.

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