Ireland has won a bid to host the 2016 FIBA Europe General Assembly. This is the leading administrative meeting of Basketball’s governing authorities in Europe and has never previously been hosted in Ireland.
It will see the arrival of representatives from each of the 51 European Basketball Federations and be a significant boost to the local economy through travel, accommodation and spending from the estimated 200 visitors.
The bid was made by Basketball Ireland in partnership with the Minister for Sport Michael Ring and Failte Ireland.
The 2014 General Assembly took place in Munich, Germany at which a new president and board of FIBA Europe were voted in. The 2015 meeting will be held in Malta before it comes to Dublin in May 2016.
“This is an excellent opportunity to showcase the organisational ability of Irish basketball on an international stage,” commented Basketball Ireland Secretary General and Chief Executive Bernard O’Byrne.
“It will be a massive event and a challenge we are all looking forward to. We would hope that a successful hosting of the General Assembly will lead to us hosting an U16 or U18 European Championships on Irish soil in 2017 or 2018,” added O’Byrne.
With sports tourism a major global trend and an important focus for Irish Tourism authorities, this is a good win.
It comes on the heels of the Irish Sailing Association hosting the International Sailing Annual Conference at the end of 2012; Paralympics Ireland hosting the European Assembly of the European Governing Body last autumn; and the Irish Olympic Handball Association which will host a similar European Conference in September of this year.
It could also open up potential commercial partnerships for Basketball Ireland. The sport is well supported across Europe with BMW and Microsoft signing different sponsorship deals in recent weeks, and the presence of Ireland at the top table of governance in the sport could follow through into productive discussions around the domestic game as well as Ireland’s under age international teams.
