FIBA Europe opposes 4-year Eurobasket cycle

The FIBA Europe Board has expressed its dissatisfaction with certain aspects of the planned reform of the global calendar, decided by FIBA’s recent Central Board in Kuala Lumpur.

In particular, the FIBA Europe Board, which convened in Ljubljana, Slovenia this weekend, reiterated its rejection of the FIBA proposal for a four-year cycle for EuroBasket, its flagship event and Europe’s premier basketball event. FIBA Europe believes that the two-year cycle should be maintained.

The Board, in principle, agrees with the introduction of windows during the season for the National Teams competitions.

FIBA Europe has decided to have a full analysis of the proposed changes, informally through a working group and seminars involving its member Federation, and formally by bringing the issue before the General Assembly next spring. There have been tensions between FIBA and FIBA Europe for a while now regarding several topics.

It will also be interesting to see when and how the ULEB makes an official statement about the new FIBA plans. It is not very likely that Euroleague teams will be happy to miss their key players in the middle of the season for qualification games of the national teams!

How will the NBA react in regards to the same situation as described above? Everything indicates that this story is not finished yet.