fiba33€¦ · ing project to which our country’s Government has joined. in the 2009-10 season, our top club competi-tion, the adecco Oro, has become the pioneer in the application

istanbul - Day FOuR - 6 septembeR 2010

basketball authorities must be very careful not to smother the booming 3on3 game by over-regulating it, the Fiba World Congress heard yesterday.

While there was an argument for national federations and Fiba creating a set of new tournaments to ensure a consistent formula worldwide and supply-ing referees, Fiba should “lead, not control” the exciting new format, laurent scharapan told delegates.

scharapan, a consultant to major european media firm Groupe amaury who has been part of a working group helping advise Fiba on how to take the format forward, was speaking as a member of a panel debating the Fiba33 game.

He said the challenge for Fiba was to formalise aspects of the rules and create 3on3 tournaments “but not kill the essence of 3on3, which is fun, freedom and urban”.

He noted that many sports were trying to invent formats that would appeal to younger people. the classic example, he said, was beach volleyball. but he cautioned that it had taken 10 years to get that off the ground and at one point it virtually died.

scharapan added that while the working group was still a work in progress, it had identified one key element. that was to focus on the grassroots, not on the top players, in order to increase participation in the sport.

the working group would release more details of its work next year, he said, but ideas it was studying included a Fiba professional 3on3 tour and a ranking system for individual players on a global basis. the last idea posed the difficulty

Betting scams“a threat to all sports”Page 3

aldo vitale“mr fiba” to retirePage 12

US Virgin islandsnew indoor facility key to game’s growthPage 10

bob elphinstonfiba watch “my top job”Page 4

Continued on page 2

Warning note on fiba33

As the current World Championship builds towards a climax in Turkey, thoughts will soon start to turn to the next Championship in 2014.

Getting into the spirit of the game, Pinar Kilic, volunteer VIP Assistant for the Turkish Basketball Federation here at the FIBA World Congress, looks forward to the tip-off in Spain. See Spain country profile, Page 3.

2 EXTENDING OUR REACH - BASKETBALL THE GLOBAL SPORT

Having been involved in international basketball for so many decades and with an expert knowl-edge of the broader world of sports, George Killian (Fiba president 1990-1998 and current international university sports Federation (Fisu) president) shared his thoughts about the past, present and future of basketball.

the sport is growing at a very fast speed said Killian, but he reminded us that it is as much a reflec-tion of the structures put in place by Fiba’s so-called founding fathers as the current work by Fiba.

a friend of borislav stankovic’s and of William Jones, Killian reckoned that today’s suc-cesses are fruits of a tree sown very long ago.

“Without those two gentlemen we would not be here today. they laid the groundwork for world basketball. Fiba and basketball have changed a lot. We took in the professional game. When we did that the whole concept of the sport

changed,” he said.as Fiba president, Killian oversaw one of the

key moments in the history of the modern game when in 1992 the usa competed in the Olympics with a team of nba players.

“Fiba changes as the world changes. everyday something new happens. last night i was sitting watching the girls, the cheerleaders (during the Fiba World Championship eight-Finals),” he explained.

“in my day, Fiba would never have done that, but it’s a new world and that is what people want now. patrick (baumann) has done a wonderful job taking these kinds of things and including them in the programme and everybody enjoys it.”

For the future, Killian sees a world of sport still aiming high.

“people will always say that the latest Championship is the best one that has ever been held. it happens like this each time you have an event. With Fisu we had the university Games in beijing in 2001. this was really a try out for 2008,” he added.

“the turks are doing a great job. so the spanish are making all kinds of notes so that when we get to spain (Fiba World Champion-ship 2014) they are going to be better than turkey. this is normal in this kind of world. people want to do better, especially in the very competitive world of sport.”

the focus on Fiba33 also leaves Killian enthusiastic about the future.

“i think there’s no end to the development of basketball. pushing the 3on3 just strengthens that point. it means that every little kid in every country can play basketball.”

of how a casual player should be ranked alongside a professional, but work was advanced on developing such a system.

Fiba’s sport Development Director, Zoran Radovic, told delegates that it had been a tough job getting to this stage.

With each team making typically 30-35 shots and no time-outs during the 10-minute games, there was no doubt they was exciting to watch. However, “We struggled for about one and a half years as to how we should play this. after 18 months we came up with two halves of five minutes each as being best-suited to the game.”

the great success of 3on3 at the youth Olympic Games in singapore was mentioned by another panel member, Christophe Dubi, sports Director of the international Olympic Committee.

He argued that the smaller number of players required meant that lesser basketball nations could compete at the highest level with nations traditionally powerful in the sport.

the new format also offered a chance for countries where basketball is a minority sport to increase participation in the game, said ingo Weiss, Vice-

president of Fiba europe. in Germany, for example, it was frequently difficult to find enough players to form a traditional basketball team, a problem eased by the lower numbers required for a 3on3 game.

Fiba is now devoting considerable efforts to the game, but the format has been popular in the us for some time, noted Jim tooley, usa basketball’s executive Director.

the annual Hoopfest, held in spokane, Washington, this year attracted more than 6700 teams, playing on 428 courts

spread over 14 city blocks. to make it even more of an event, it included music, food, entertainment, even shopping attractions, said tooley.

although 3on3 had declined slightly since the 1990s, it was still a very popular format in the us and was largely organised by independent operators and promoters.

in a question-and-answer session, Radovic returned to the question of rules. there had been considerable debate over whether the game should have ref-erees. a ‘fair play’ format, with players regulating themselves worked “for about 75% of the time” but when prizes were at stake, some coaches and teams were prepared to misuse the system to gain a victory. For that reason, referees were required. “it’s very difficult to find so many referees, but it’s necessary,” he said.

“We struggled for about one and a half years as to how we should play this. After 18 months we came up with two halves of five minutes each as being best-suited to the game.”

“I think there’s no end to the development of basketball. Pushing the 3on3 just strengthens that point. It means that every little kid in every country can play basketball.”

Continued FROM page 2

current Success “deeply rooted”

Killian discusses legacy

Laurent Scharapan.

George Killian.

EXTENDING OUR REACH - BASKETBALL THE GLOBAL SPORT 3

If you have a story to tell at the FIBA World Championship then the Congress Daily wants to hear from you. The newspaper will be published every day this week and circulated at the event. It’s your event newspaper, so let us know what your organisation is doing. The Daily team is located in Lausanne Room, Level 5.

ReachingOut, The FIBA World Championship Congress Daily is produced on behalf of the organisers by Trident Communications Dubai.

FIBA Communications: Florian Wanninger, Simon Wilkinson, Andrew Robotham, Luis Modestti | Editor: Mike Martin | Designed by: Helen Coupland | Production and design: Greg Bryant Journalist: Alan Dron | Photography: Jim Robbins, FIBA Archive | Printed by: TEMPO Matbaacılık ve Ambalaj San. A.S, Istanbul

The Spanish Basketball Federation were worthy winners of the right to host the next World Cham-pionship. Federation President Jose Luis Saez reflects on the spectacular successes achieved by his country and looks ahead to 2014.

Reaching Out: Can you outline the major develop-ments and progress of your Federation in the four years since the last Fiba World Congress?Saez: Regarding sport results, these have been the better years of spanish basketball history, with no less than 30 medals, including the gold medals in the World and european championships, which have placed us as the leading powerhouse in europe, and second worldwide. Regarding the organisation, the Fiba Central board gave us its confidence to host the 2014 World Championship, which is an excit-ing project to which our country’s Government has joined. in the 2009-10 season, our top club competi-tion, the adecco Oro, has become the pioneer in the application of the new Fiba rules. also, Feb is today’s leading sports federation in women licenses. and regarding the social aspects, our Feb2014 foundation has experienced great growth, with programmes and projects not only in spain, but also beyond our frontiers. and all of the above has been achieved with a total economic balance.

Reaching Out: What challenges to the growth of basketball does your Federation face?Saez: We want to organize in 2014 the best World Championship ever, and increase the number of licenses with the ambitious target of reaching one million. We also want to promote basketball through the basketD3 modality, making it suitable for all ages. and we continue to focus specially on the women’s basketball growth.

Reaching Out: What steps are you taking to succeed in these challenges?Saez: those necessary to keep on growing the structure, and this growth will multiply the opportu-nity to achieve them.

Reaching Out: What can other Federations learn through your experience?Saez: basically, one thing: that everything can be really hard, but nothing is impossible, and because of that, it’s worthwile to believe in utopias, and to set them as targets.

Reaching Out: What does your Federation expect to get in the Fiba congress?Saez: to make Fiba stronger to contribute to our development, and to have presence in the organisa-tions where we have to be.

Reaching Out: What action taken by the 2010 Con-gress could most help your federation?Saez: the action of promoting the sport through the

‘3on3’ modality, and the development of the growing countries, to offer them programmes through which their basketball can develop at every level.

Reaching Out: How do you see the basketball devel-oping in your country through the next three years?Saez: through a really optimistic perspective. Our youth national teams are showing us that we have not just an awesome present, but also an excellent future, based on the work of our clubs, autonomous federations, coaches and referees, and the support of sponsors, institutions and media. also, the pro-gressive development of the 2014 World Champion-ship project is going to represent, without doubt, a synergistic force.

• Fiba ranking: 2nd (1st in europe)

• Registered players: 256,847 in 24,679 teams

• main tournaments: Copa del Rey, aCb league, adecco Oro, liga Femenina, Copa de la Reina, men and women regional teams Championships (child, cadet, minibasket).

Spain – FACT FILE

COUNTRY PROFILE – Spain

“Don’t be afraid of utopias”

Betting scams “a threat to all sports”illegal betting organisations and their potential for corrupting sport are a potential threat to all sports and must be fought “anywhere, anytime”, norbert teufelberger, Co-Chief executive of bwin interac-tive entertainment said yesterday.

He was reacting to the cricket scandal surrounding the pakistan national team currently touring england and speaking before he led a panel discussion on betting and sport at the 19th Fiba World Congress.

“absolutely, it is a fact that this threat needs to be fought globally, anywhere, anytime - but needs support from local governments and sports federation,” he said. “betting happens anyhow, no matter whether sports federation like it or not.”

He said the only way to combat sports manipulation was the crea-tion of a clearly and strictly-regulated legislative framework.

“prohibition and/or monopolies have proved to fail and are not up to facing modern chal-lenges.”

basketball and other sports can best protect themselves by promoting regulation and “actively addressing betting as a

normal activity demanded by mainstream consumers. apart from that, its stakeholders need to be trained and educated on illegal betting activities and how to combat those.”

He added that the european online gaming industry had made “great progress” in educating professional sports federations by sharing information educating athletes.

“Betting happens anyhow, no matter whether sports federation like it or not.”

Norbert Teufelberger.


Fiba president bob elphinston is seeing a very successful four-year term in office with basketball’s governing body come to an end.

in 2006, the native of lithgow, new south Wales, became only the third australian to be president of an international Olympic sports Federation when he was elected at the Fiba World Congress in Japan.

elphinston is one of the most respected sports adminis-trators in the world, having been involved in basketball since 1961 and international sports since 1991.

He was one of the founding directors of the australian national basketball league (nbl) and managed the coun-try’s men’s national basketball team at the los angeles 1984 Olympic Games. in addition, he was the founding president of the australian basketball Coaches association.

in 1991, elphinston was appointed as General manager for the sydney Olympics 2000 bid, reporting directly to Chief executive Rod mcGeoch. His work was ultimately rewarded two years later when sydney won the right to host the 2000 Olympic Games.

as sOGOG’s (sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games) General manager for sport, he was directly responsible for ensuring the smooth running of all 28 sports at the Olympic Games.

in his 10 years of Olympic involvement, he has developed a close working relationship with Fiba. in recognition of his significant contribution in bidding for and staging the “best Games ever”, the international Olympic Committee (iOC) appointed him to the iOC sports programme Commission and

the iOC evaluation Commission for the selection of the 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games.

in addition, due to his vast experience, elphinston has served as sports Consultant to the Organising Committees of the 2008 beijing Olympic Games (bOCOG) in beijing, p.R. of China and the london Olympic Games 2012 (lOCOG) and also consults the iOC.

in October 2000, he was awarded the Olympic Order by the president of the iOC and has been honoured in australia with an Order of australia medal, together with lifetime membership of basketball australia and australia’s sport administrator of the year.

elphinston reflected on his term in office with Reaching Out.

Reaching Out: What are your thoughts as you look back on your term as Fiba president?Elphinston: First of all it’s been a remarkable experience to be president and leader of an international federation and not any international federation but such a high profile one as Fiba. it is a wonderful and remarkable opportunity and it’s one which i will remember for the rest of my life. i have had the opportunity to work closely with secretary General patrick baumann and the staff of Fiba, something which i really treasure. and of course i got to understand the global

“The statistics speak for themselves: dramatically more television coverage of all our major events, dramatically more federations actively participating in the qualification programmes.”

Fiba watch “my top job”Elphinston reflects on presidency


issues of basketball which frankly, even as a member of the Central board the previous four years i didn’t really under-stand some of the complexities. so i’ve learned a lot and it’s been a remarkable experience.

Reaching Out: What memories stand out the most?Elphinston: Clearly a truly remarkable Olympic Games in beijing in 2008 both men and women’s competitions. Without doubt the experience of re-branding Fiba33 from 3on3 and the impact it had at the youth Olympic Games, seeing the introduction of the u17 age groups certainly has given us a new level as well to progress. also the growing interest and growing professionalism of our federations and i think that’s demonstrated by 174 federations being represented here at the Fiba World Congress, given that there were only 106 in tokyo (in 2006). so that shows a strong interest there. Clearly there are areas we haven’t done well in and we need to continue to do better. We want to get a viable

men’s and women’s world club championships off the ground and whilst we had a good women’s event running with the support of the Russians, that’s no longer available. the men’s we need to get off the ground. We need the top of the pyramid for the club teams and that in turn will strengthen the continental club championships, particularly in africa, asia and americas. another great achievement of course is after 42 years of discussion the building of our world head-quarters in switzerland. that’s going to have a marvellous effect on basketball in the long term.

Reaching Out: What accomplishments are you most proud of?Elphinston: i think getting the Fiba headquarters project up and going and knowing it’s going to be in the space of three years a reality. Without doubt that and also the profile of the sport.

Reaching Out: if you look at Fiba today compared to 2006, what stands out the most in terms of progression?Elphinston: the statistics speak for themselves: dramatically more television coverage of all our major events, dramati-cally more federations actively participating in the qualifica-tion programmes and at our World Congress, a dramatic increase in the commercial value of our properties including television but also marketing, sponsorship and the ability therefore to redistribute more money to the zones so that they can do a better job in the development of the sport as well.

Reaching Out: you have had an illustrious career as a sports administrator. Where does being Fiba president rank?Elphinston: (laughs) that’s difficult. to be honest i think it’s the top of the tree. Having spent 10 years on leading a bid and then being a fundamental person in the organisation of

very successful sydney Olympic Games is very high, then of course leading the administration of a very successful Olympic Committee. but president of Fiba is top.

Reaching Out: are there any goals that you set out to accomplish in your term which you regret not being able to see come to fruition?Elphinston: yes certainly as i mentioned the world club championships for men and women that’s the disappoint-ment. another one would be our inability to put a strong mer-chandising licensing programme in place. We went down a particular path, we signed an agreement with a very good company but the reality of it is that hasn’t developed the way it should and we need to go in another direction.

Reaching Out: What do you see as the key for Fiba’s contin-ued growth and success?Elphinston: i think first of all strong leadership and i think

we will have that with the likelihood of yvan mainini being the new president, subject to the election on monday. i think that’s good. the Central board that’s coming in is a very strong, well educated and experienced group, but i think more importantly is the ability of the Fiba family to work together. there have been some difficulties in the last four years, obviously the relationships with europe at one stage, the relationships with asia have not been as strong as they should. We need to overcome that. We need five zones who are working absolutely in sync with Fiba and the secretary

General. We need coordinated programmes in everything we do whether it’s player education or coach education or the use of the digital tools that Fiba is rolling out which is a wonderful resource, myFiba.com and particularly the Fiba Organizer programme. We have yet to embrace that fully as we should.

Reaching Out: you will still be involved with Fiba, in particu-lar with the international basketball Foundation. Can you tell us a bit more about your role there?Elphinston: i’m delighted that i will continue at this moment in time as the president of the international basketball Foundation with the particular responsibility of overseeing the construction and then the operation of our new Fiba headquarters. and as part of the foundation as well we’re going to take a growing role in the development arm of Fiba and also look at the areas of social responsibilities. Fiba as an international organisation has a responsibility to also look at what we can do in the communities to make things better for disadvantaged people or whatever the category might be. so that will be important. and of course i will return to the role as president of Fiba Oceania when i’ve concluded the Fiba president’s role. i’m looking forward very much to working with my friends in the pacific and representing them on the Central board in the next four years.Reaching Out: Can you give us your impressions of yvan mainini?Elphinston: i have known yvan since the sydney Olympic Games. His record speaks for itself as a very, very effective leader of what may be the best organised federation in the world, the French basketball Federation. He’s a very experienced person in basketball at the highest level, he’s refereed at the highest level, he knows the game and above all he has the great passion for the game. and he has the commitment. this is his commitment in life, like myself there are no other distractions.

“Another great achievement of course is after 42 years of discussion the building of our world headquarters in Switzerland.”


sunday social“club networking”


Day three of the 19th FIBA World congress and there is still plenty to talk about. Delegates yesterday continued to make the most of every opportunity to network and talk basketball.

EXTENDING OUR REACH - BASKETBALL THE GLOBAL SPORT 7 EXTENDING OUR REACH - BASKETBALL THE GLOBAL SPORT 7


In a crowded world with a growing population, small is beautiful and that makes basketball the truly “beautiful game”, according to Andrew Gettig, Vice President of International Business for Connor Sport Court International, makers of a range of sports flooring.

“More and more of the world’s population is moving to or living in urban population centres,” he said. “For the first time in history more than half of the world’s population lives in urban areas. Space is at a premium. Access to full size football pitches is becoming increasingly difficult.

“Basketball requires less space, courts are popping up all over, and the sport continues to grow in popularity in parts of the world where

there is little history of the sport. Basketball can be the number one team sport of the future if it continues to smartly manage its growth and invest in its future.”

Sport Court is at the 19th FIBA World Congress immediately after the inaugural Youth Olympic Games (YOG) in Singapore where its customised outdoor surface PowerGame was used for the very successful 3on3 basketball tour-nament. The surface is one of a complete range of wood and synthetic, permanent or portable, courts designed for indoor or outdoor use.

The firm is the product of a 2005 merger between Connor Wood Floors and Sport Court International. The Connor side of the business

dates back more than 100 years. Connor wood floors are used by 14 teams

in the NBA and have been featured in several Olympic Games. The Connor factory in the USA is certified by the ISO (International Organisa-tion for Standardisation), the only wood floor manufacturer in the country to be so.

The firm has installations in more than 60 countries, and has been a partner in the FIBA Study Centre since 1997.

Sport Court was founded in 1974 and from the beginning focused on safe outdoor courts. Sport Court indoor flooring is the official playing surface of the professional BJ Basketball League in Japan.

Gettig welcomed the opportunity for the firm to be represented at the World Congress.

“Connor Sport Court is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of basketball courts,” he said. “The FIBA World Congress is where the leaders of the basketball world meet to plan the future of basket-ball. As basketball is so important to us, we feel it is important to be a part of those discussions.

“Also, as the supplier of the Singapore YOG court and FIBA’s emphasis on outdoor and 3on3 basketball, we believe many national federa-tions will be interested in our outdoor courts. Countries that do not have many indoor facilities will also be interested in our outdoor courts, and alternatives to concrete base.”

He believes that basketball will overtake foot-ball as the leading sport in the coming decades.

“Basketball is just getting started in China and is already hugely popular. Similar efforts and inroads into India and Africa can see basketball surpass football in the coming half century,” Gettig explained.

“China is an excellent case study. Twenty years ago there was very little excitement about basketball

and now it is hugely popular. Smart investments were made along the way. Those efforts need to be replicated. Beyond the ability to see the World Cham-pionships or NBA games on TV, people need access to courts. That is where the playing takes place.

“This lack of courts is the bottleneck to devel-opment - build more courts, create access for the young people and new generations of players will grow up with basketball as their primary sport.”

Gettig said his firm has had a strategic focus on developing surfaces suitable for outdoors use.

“Not every country has the resources for indoor arenas and facilities, and in much of the world basketball is an outdoor sport,” he offered.

“Asphalt and concrete are good building supplies, but not good for the athletes nor for the sport. Sport Court has been focusing on this issue for years and now has an alternative to concrete that can serve as a base for the outdoor specific sports surface.

“The new system passes all ball bounce tests and provides nearly 40% shock absorption for running and jumping athletes. We believe this can have a great impact on the health of the athletes and their basketball careers.”

The FIBA Study Center was founded to help equip and increase the number of sports facilities throughout the world, to encourage the construc-tion of basic facilities and the refurbishment of older ones and to co-ordinate research initiatives and offer consulting services for materials, equip-ment design and construction.

The objective is to attain a high standard of quality, safety and high-tech for the athletes, the public, as well as for the media whose demands are growing. This can only be achieved by a constant control and inspection of facilities and equipment.

exhibitor PROFILE – Sports Court

a crowded world

Basketball in Algeria has taken a few steps back in recent years but the national federation is implementing meas-ures to turn things around. Algerian Basketball Federation President Hamou Benchemam talked to Reaching Out about the work ahead. Reaching Out: Can you outline the progress and key devel-opments in your Federation in the four years since the last Fiba World Congress?Benchemam: We have problems in the world of sport in algeria at the moment. We’re reorganising federations. algeria is trying to get back to a high level in international basketball and hoping that within a couple of years we’ll be back in major competitions. basketball in algeria was going backwards until we started the reorganisation at the start of the year. We hope it will work out. Reaching Out: What are the main barriers to progress cur-rently facing your Federation?Benchemam: it seems that while others progress, we’re stag-nating because of a lax approach at times. also the apprentice-ship of players at a young age is not up to the right standards. We need to change mentalities. the training of youngsters and of their coaches has to be high on our agenda. Reaching Out: What steps are you taking to overcome those challenges?Benchemam: as i said we have to really pay attention to

our young players. We realised that we were successful when we were very technically sound but not necessarily physically great. now we have a few big players but they’re lacking the fundamentals so that’s not a good situation. Reaching Out: What can other Federations learn from you?Benchemam: a lot of neighbouring federations took example from us when we were on the rise and have benefited from doing what we used to do. We fell asleep so we have to put things back in place. they learned to develop their young talent, organise national competitions in a good and professional way. Reaching Out: What are you hoping to achieve at this Congress?Benchemam: We were a bit distant from other basketball institutions and governing bodies in africa. it’s not that we were rejected, we just kept our distance. so the most important thing is to reconnect with the other african federations. Reaching Out: How do you see basketball developing in your country over the next three years?Benchemam: Well three years is the window we are giving ourselves to get everything back to where it was before we started going backwards. i was telling my colleagues that back in 2002 we were in the Fiba World Championship and now we can’t even qualify for the african Champion-ships. so hopefully within the next three to four years we

will be back on the map in african basketball and then after that worldwide. Reaching Out: Where do you see world basketball in four years’ time?Benchemam: basketball is making great strides and will keep going. the main basketball nations are always there and will always be there.

COUNTRY PROFILE – ALGERIA

Back to the drawing board

• Fiba ranking – men 35th Women 57th

• Registered players – 14,000

• main tournaments and competitions: Four regional leagues – Centre, south, east, West; super Division Championship (16 teams); national Championship (four divisions consisting of 10 teams each).

Algeria – fact file

Andrew Gettig, Vice President of International Business , Connor Sport Court International.


In the developing country of Malawi, sport does not rank at the top of the agenda, but that has not slowed down the country’s national basketball federation in its efforts to grow the sport. Basketball Association of Malawi President Oscar Kanjala talks about the obstacles to overcome.

Reaching Out: Can you outline the progress and key developments in your federation in the four years since the last Fiba Congress?Kanjala: in the first place in 2006 we were not what i would call recognised by Fiba because our previous committee never paid the affiliation fee, they never attended any of the meetings and there was more or less no communication. When we finally got properly registered and affiliated with Fiba, we began to receive benefits from Fiba like the information, the training programme that’s been going on for four years and trained a significant number of coaches and referees. along with the Fiba offer of programmes, we have been organising our local programmes in terms of referee-ing and coaching and our leagues have grown. now we’ve got about 60 teams in both senior and junior men’s leagues and one ladies’ senior league. that’s quite some progress for our country.

Reaching Out: What are the main barriers to progress currently facing your Federation?Kanjala: What brings us down is the lack of proper infrastructure. as a developing country i think sport doesn’t really become a priority and we really do struggle in that area. the other problem we have is we do not have local sponsorship. most of the sponsors would go for a major competitor of football. We have to put in place a very strong marketing strategy to make them turn to basketball.

Reaching Out: What steps are you taking to overcome those challenges?Kanjala: We have had application for the last two years to get funding from the Government. We’ve made some progress, we’ve convinced them. We’re happy that they’ve accepted and looked at our prob-lems and our plight and they have promised to do something about it and we’re waiting to see the result. With sponsors, in most cases we keep on talking to them, write to them officially, invite them to attend our functions for free to see what goes on in the world of basketball.

Reaching Out: What can other federations learn from you?Kanjala: (laughs) i’m not sure they can learn much! i’m not sure, unless they have the same problems that we have. maybe it

should be the other way around, maybe it’s what we can learn from other federations. On my part it’s how they market the sport in the country, how they manage to get spon-sorship in an environment like ours. We try to be consistent and persistent.

Reaching Out: What are you hoping to achieve at this Congress?Kanjala: i think to enhance our organisation as an association. there are a lot of other things we have not done which we have learned from and i think going back home i will make sure that we are at par with the other people, especially in terms of records, in terms of statistics. i think Fiba need to understand at what level and in what posi-tion we are. and maybe from there when we talk to them about assistance they will understand.

Reaching Out: How do you see basketball developing in your country over the next three years?Kanjala: being a team sport, especially for a developing country, its development is tricky, it’s very gradual. but we are willing to be patient because as long as we set the proper foundation for the development, we will be comfortable. everything else takes off from there.

Reaching Out: Where do you see world basketball in four years’ time?Kanjala: it’s exciting to think that basketball is the second most popular sport on the (african) continent. to belong to that group-ing where basketball is the next big thing, to be a part of that family is very exciting.

exhibitor PROFILE – Schelde Sports

COUNTRY PROFILE – MALAWI

Pioneer Schelde at the cutting edge

Preaching and practising perseverance

• Fiba ranking – 93

• main tournaments and competitions: three main regional leagues – senior men and women’s leagues and Junior men’s league in the cities of blantyre, lilongwe and mzuzu. Overall 1,500-2,000 athletes compete, most of them students.

Malawi – fact file

as founding member of the Fiba study Center, schelde sports has been at the fore-front of the development of specialist equipment for sports and physical education.

and the firm believes the input of research and innovation into the equipment for basketball has ensured that the game remains exciting and safer at the same time, according to Walter Dejonghe, General manager export Division for schelde sports.

“schelde was the first member of the Fiba study Center, when the latter was created by aldo Vitale in the early 1990s,” he recalled.

“together with other specialist basketball companies that joined the study Center, minimum performance standards have been created for the sports floors, the back-stops, the scoreboards etc.

“this has definitely had an impact on the sport in terms of safety for the players, con-sistency of performance standards and the ‘overall appeal’ of the sport of basketball.

“it is a technical game, it is fast, it is spectacular. monster dunks no longer shatter backboards. now players are free to play the game the way it was meant to be played.”

schelde sports designs and manufactures a complete range of basketball backstops targeted at the institutional market rather than the end user. the range covers a full line of portable backstops as well as customised versions

that are mounted to the gym’s sidewalls, or electrically fold-up executions that are sus-pended from the gym’s roof girders.

When schelde invented the spring assisted mechanism (sam) a few decades ago it eliminated the need for electrical and hydraulic systems and all the problems associated with them. the system makes raising and leveling the unit a five-second process rather than a time-consuming one.

the latest version of sam is even better and easier to operate, said Dejonghe. the schelde company was founded in1892 and was originally in the business of

installing church organs before eventually shifting to school furniture, which after some time included basic physical education equipment for school gyms.

in the firm’s domestic market (belgium and the netherlands), the bulk of the sales is taken up by sophisticated, versatile physical education equipment for school gyms and sports centres. in export markets – the firm is active in 120 countries - the focus is entirely on equipment for competition sports, and within this of course basketball is by far the dominating sport.

Dejonghe believes that the game will continue to evolve and that research and technology will need to keep pace.

“i expect the game of basketball to continue to be more physical and more demanding,” he said.

“today’s players are stronger and faster, shot clocks on the equipment are getting larger and heavier. these demands place greater stress on portable equipment, which must become virtually indestructible.”

“It is a technical game, it is fast, it is spectacular. Monster dunks no longer shatter backboards. Now players are free to play the game the way it was meant to be played.”


Despite its small size, the US Virgin Islands is a major basketball power in the Caribbean region but has not been able to break though onto the world stage. USVI Basketball Federation President Usie Richards though is optimistic and sees more opportunities to play in world competition and a brighter future thanks to a bigger talent pool.

Reaching Out: Can you outline the progress and key developments in your Federation in the four years since the last Fiba World Congress?Richards: Well it is extreme progress. i know that the opportunity has been provided to all national federations and for the us Virgin islands to be here with all these accommo-dations it inspires other federations to be here despite their economic conditions. since the 2006 Congress in Japan i have been impressed with the technical support given to us, the marketing and promotion of Fiba as an entity.

Reaching Out: What are the main barriers to progress currently facing your federation?Richards: Our main barrier is to afford to develop the national team players, men or women, because they take part in overseas leagues in europe or college in the united states and under those circumstances a lot of them have left our territory to improve their skills.

Reaching Out: What steps are you taking to overcome these challenges?Richards: We are trying to secure the resources to have those players relocate here, to promote the game of basketball, take part in the national teams’ practices and tournaments in order to improve the team.

Reaching Out: What can other Federations learn from your experience?Richards: We decided to focus on calling players from well organised programmes to the national teams. We have been able to have some success on that because

when you bring players from overseas or college they understand that they have been in an entity where coaches work with X’s and O’s. in comparison, in our local leagues, the players have been barely identified for their potential. We have been able to house players together and understand the importance of team basketball and we have been able to have success in international competitions.

Reaching Out: What is your Federation hoping to achieve at this Congress?Richards: One of the things that we are looking for is assistance available from Fiba, especially the Fiba study Center as we are now moving to have a proper indoor facility. Just a week and a half ago the government of the Virgin islands closed on a piece of property of 43.5 acres on the island of st. Croix to construct an indoor facility. i have been talking to the people of Fiba in order to get assistance to make sure that anything that gets con-structed is able to host events so the residents of st. Croix can see the best of basketball that Central american and the Caribbean has to offer. We have also been able to get assistance from Fiba americas by getting television and hosting international tournaments that increased interest and a fan base in Virgin islands basketball.

Reaching Out: What action taken by the 2010 Congress could most help your Federation?Richards: i think that the addition of more world com-petitions, i think that the youth Olympic Games with the Fiba33 concept were very important because it increases the number of participants and interest in the love of basketball. i remember in the 1970’s we played 3on3 competitions and that was seen as a thing of the past. by doing this, it brings more interest from the players. We are looking forward to promoting the Fiba33 programme in the Virgin islands and through the local schools we can organise Fiba33 competitions because it improves the individual skills of a player and requires additional skills like playing the pick-and-roll and other fundamentals are emphasised.

Reaching Out: How do you see basketball developing in your country over the next three years?Richards: We have seen an increase in our talent pool. We played in the Central american and Caribbean Games for Women where two of the 12 players were veterans. We saw a lot of progress from the Centrobas-ket to the Central american and Caribbean Games. the participation of these young players will build a founda-tion to replace the older players that we had in the past. We had a lot of new players in the men’s national team and that increases our pool that we can select from. We have a new coach with experience who has coached at both collegiate and international levels. We want the senior men to qualify for the Fiba World Championship.

Reaching Out: Where do you see World basketball in four years time?Richards: World basketball will improve a lot. For example seeing the ivory Coast winning against puerto Rico and the technical evolution will help coaches, players and the promotion of the sport throughout the world and smaller countries will have a position to compete in the five zones and that increases the awareness of the sport.

• Fiba Ranking – 59th

• Registered players – 7,000

• main tournaments and competitions: aba; ssbl; leagues from mini basketball to senior women’s school basketball.

U.S VIRGIN ISLANDS – FACT FILE

COUNTRY PROFILE – US Virgin Islands

New indoor facility key to growth of the game

All the world’s an (Oiko) stagethe rapid growth and development of basketball has raised the profile of the game worldwide. to keep pace with devel-opments, Fiba has also had to raise its own profile and it has done so with the help of Oiko.

the italian communications specialist has a strong focus on sports branding which embraces events, advertising and new media.

With a long track record of managing world sporting events, it has ploughed all of its experience into key elements of the Fiba World Congress in istanbul. they include the stage and the Fiba Village.

“We look forward to presenting this project that we developed and which Fiba and the turkish local Organising Committee will bring to reality,” said Giancarlo alfani, project manager for Oiko.

“Our thanks to the very special people who collaborated on the project. it’s a project that took six months to realise and one where we faced a lot of challenges.”

the firm was founded in 2000, with web design as its core business. it specialises in the sports sector and, as well as working with Fiba, lists a range of sporting organisations as its clients, including the international motorcycling Federa-tion and the international Hockey Federation.

Oiko helped Fiba develop its brand, mainly providing design solutions for the communications and marketing area.

“During events, we supported the Fiba staff with special-ised services such as event design, project management and logistic,” added alfani.

He believes that the digital revolution has helped to grow the global appeal of basketball.

“in my opinion basketball is increasing its worldwide appeal thanks to the awareness that we see being created in the digital era, with completely new ways to communicate,” he said.

“most of all, the basketball institutions understood this concept before the others and i think now they have a com-petitive advantage.”

He also believes that competitive edge will be maintained in regions like asia and africa.

“We foresee a step-up of the popularity of the game, mainly in the african and asian countries as digital technolo-gies become widespread as in usa or in europe.”

the Fiba study Centre was founded to help equip and increase the number of sports facilities throughout the world, to encourage the construction of basic facilities and the refurbishment of older ones and to co-ordinate research initiatives and offer consulting services for materials, equipment design and construction.

the objective is to attain a high standard of quality, safety and high-tech for the athletes, the public, as well as for the media whose demands are growing. this can only be achieved by a constant control and inspection of facilities and equipment.

Exhibitor profile – Oiko


IstanbulAfter hours in…

In our latest look at things to do in Istanbul away from the FIBA World Congress, Reaching Out takes a stroll around the bazaars. It’s shopping time.

Emergency numberspolice 155ambulance 112Fire 110General emergency 115

Talking shop in the bazaarif you like shopping, then you will love istanbul. and if you hate shopping, the city is just the place that could change your mind.

in the Grand bazaar there is an all-out assault on the senses: the spice bazaar is a riot of colour and aromas.

to enter the Grand bazaar is less about shopping than about a unique experience. tens of thousands of traders operate in a labyrinth of streets covered by painted vaults.

built originally by sultan mehmet ii after he conquered the city in 1453, it is the ultimate “super” market.

it is packed with everything from carpets and rugs to craftware like brass and fi ne wood. there is also jewellery and leather goods. at the pretty Zincirli Han within the bazaar, you can have jewellery made to your own design.

the Grand bazaar is so vast that it houses its own restaurants, bank and mosque. so, you will probably get lost, which is all part of the experience.

in keeping with its traditions, this is a place where you will need to haggle over the price. you will not fi nd many price tags on the goods displayed and the prices are often infl ated so learn the art of bargaining. it’s expected.

enter the Grand bazaar via one of several impressive gates, including Carsikapi Gate and nuruosmaniye Gate.

the nearby book bazaar, on the site of the byzantine book and paper market, is also worth a visit. Here you will fi nd all sorts of books, from tourism guides to learned tracts on medicine.

it is ironic that in the early Ottoman period, printed books were viewed as a corrupting Western infl uence and banned across the empire. the result was that the bazaar sold only manuscripts. the fi rst book printed in the turkish language did not appear until 1729. it was an arabic dictionary. a bust of the printer stands in the bazaar.

the spice bazaar is nearby and sells exactly what it says on the “packet.” every exotic spice available can be bought here, together with specialities such as hand-made turkish delight and creamy goats’ cheese. you will also fi nd excellent honey, nuts and caviar.

the two famous bazaars are at the heart of a quarter which conjures up traditional istanbul. Here, shopper and anti-shopper alike will fi nd common ground because the area is so full of character.

the whole area located near the Galata bridge conjures up old istanbul.For the serious shopper, there is a wide range of modern malls, popular with turkish fami-

lies and visitors alike. they feature modern entertainment outlets as well as shops, including multiscreen cinemas and food courts.

malls include akmerkez in etiler and Galleria next to the yacht marina in atakoy.

Bargaining can mean bargainsyou will not be expected to haggle for goods in the modern shops of istanbul. However, you will be thought a touch odd if you don’t bargain in the bazaars, and you will certainly not get the best deal if you do not give it a try.

in fact, you are expected to bargain. traders will ply you with coffee and tea and turn their shop over in order to show you everything they have.

it can seem a little intimidating but is the tradition.ask the price, shrug your shoulders and offer half. the trader might look offended but

it is part of the game. Generally, aim to pay up to 60% of the original asking price.Good luck.

New light on old treasuresOne of the most atmospheric corners of istan-bul, and the perfect place to look for antiques, Cukurcuma. Here you will fi nd antique furni-ture and ornaments.

the district comes alive at night when people fl ock to the streets to be serenaded by traditional musicians.

Former warehouses have been transformed into shops and showrooms.

look for everything from 1950s biscuit boxes to 19th Century Ottoman embroidery. there are hidden treasures such as valuable paintings and prints.


It’s tough trying to develop basketball in a country where cricket is the national obses-sion, but the Bangladesh Basketball Federa-tion (BBF) is working hard to achieve it. BBF Secretary General Lt. Cdr. Abhijit Sarker talks to Reaching Out about the challenges of developing the game in his country.

Reaching Out: Can you outline the progress and key developments in your Federation in the four years since the last Fiba World Congress?Sarker: essentially, our work has been much the same over the past eight years. We have been trying to develop our finances through attracting local sponsors. We have also been working to develop the game in

the 65 provinces of the country where we now have a presence in about half. as of last January, the game was recognised in the south asian Games for the first time and bangladesh came third.

Reaching Out: What are the main barriers to progress currently facing your Federation?Sarker: again, they are the same challenges that we have always faced. the reality is that cricket is the most popular game in the country, followed by football. Our neighbours like india face the same challenge. it makes it difficult for a game like basketball to survive. in financial matters we get very little support. that means we have very little to offer the players. in devel-

oping the game in the provinces it can also be a challenge sustaining interest after the initial efforts by the Federation.

Reaching Out: What steps are you taking to overcome these challenges?Sarker: because we can expect very little help from government, we have worked to attract local sponsors. but again that is not so easy because potential sponsors see the power of cricket. We are finding that commu-nication is very important and that we have to take the message of basketball out to people, particularly potential sponsors. When we get the chance to sit down with these people and explain the attractions of the game, they tend to respond more positively.

Reaching Out: What action taken by the 2010 Fiba World Congress could most help your Federation?

Sarker: i think it might be helpful sometimes if Fiba talked directly to some of the Federa-tions rather than through the zones. it would be helpful to us if we had more support. We would like to feel that we are listened to. through speaking directly to Federations, Fiba would be better able to help develop basketball in each and every country.

The classical Romans were noted for following a lifetime of service by writing their magnum opus. Aldo Vitale, Special Advisor to the Secretary General, is in that great tradition.

Vitale is 80 years young but is still busy at the FIBA World Congress handing out copies of the definitive work on basketball infrastructure – The FIBA Guide to Basketball Facilities.

He spent more than two years overseeing the production of the masterwork, which is a “must have” for anybody involved in plan-ning or executing basketball facilities.

It’s a distillation of knowledge gained in 52 years involved in the game and every Federation, architect or sports planner needs it on their bookshelf.

“It is everything I know and have learned,” said Vitale yester-day. “It took more than two years to create. Our game has devel-oped incredibly since I have been involved and all for the best.

“To develop the game further, we really need the highest stand-ards of gyms and facilities at the highest level of world standards

with a minimum of 12,000 spectators and excellent circulation for spectators.”

After 52 years in the game and most of them in the organisa-tion, Vitale can legitimately be said to be “Mr FIBA” although next

year he plans to retire to his native Italy where he has renovated a fine house in Sienna.

His career in FIBA has embraced the launch and development of commercial activities and the creation of the FIBA Study Center back in 1994.

It was founded to help equip and increase the number of sports facilities throughout the world, encourage the construction of basic facilities and the refurbishment of older ones, co-ordinate research initiatives and offer consulting services for materials, equipment design and construction.

The Center was founded with just three commercial partners, a number which has now grown to 86 with a number of associates. Every two years the members get together for a conference and in the intervening years take part in the Cologne Fair.

“The Center has grown and developed as well as we could have hoped,” he said. “We test all new products to FIBA standards and constantly look to improve standards as the basis for improving the game as well as conditions for players and spectators.”

He revealed that a new basketball sneaker is under development designed to reduce the risk of injury and should be unveiled soon.

Most recently, Vitale has combined the role of head of the Study Center with that of Special Advisor to FIBA Secretary General Patrick Baumann.

And next year he heads towards Sienna and retirement. “I have had a very good and interesting time and now it is time to take it easy.”

Aldo Vitale

“Mr FIBA” to retire“To develop the game further, we really need the highest standards of gyms and facilities at the highest level of world standards with a minimum of 12,000 spectators and excellent circulation for spectators.”

COUNTRY PROFILE – BangladeshLiving in the shadow of cricket

Documents

fiba33€¦ · ing project to which our country’s Government has joined. in the 2009-10 season, our top club competi-tion, the adecco Oro, has become the pioneer in the application