MANILA (Philippines) – The newly appointed FIBA Central Board for the cycle of 2023 to 2027 convened today for their first meeting under the leadership of FIBA President Sheikh Saud Ali Al Thani.

new Central Board was recently appointed during the XXII FIBA Congress, held in Manila prior to the tip-off of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023. Thirteen members were announced, along with a new President and Treasurer.

Today, the Central Board appointed FIBA Oceania President David Reid as FIBA First Vice-President, and also FIBA Europe President Jorge Garbajosa and FIBA Africa President Anibal Manave as FIBA Vice-Presidents. The Central Board approved the reappointment of Mark Tatum, NBA Deputy Commissioner & COO as representative of the NBA, Dirk Nowitzki as representative of the Players and Patrick Hunt as President of the World Association of Basketball Coaches (WABC).

The continuation of the mandate of the Central Board co-opted members was also confirmed for Richard Carrion, Erick Thohir and Andrei Kirilenko (the decision on the latter will take effect subject to the decisions of the International Olympic Committee and FIBA in relation to the war in Ukraine), while Al Panlilio and Sonja Vasic were also co-opted.

The Central Board proposed to appoint newly named FIBA Honorary President Hamane Niang as the new President of the FIBA Foundation. The FIBA Foundation Board will confirm the appointment of the new President and the new members at its first board meeting.

The Central Board also heard updates on the preparations for the upcoming Paris 2024 Olympic Games and appointed the hosts of the FIBA Women’s Olympic Qualifying Tournaments 2024. They will take place from February 8 to 11, 2024 in Antwerp, Belgium; Sopron, Hungary; Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; and Xi’an, China.

The hosts of the four FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments will be appointed at the end of November.

The Central Board extended the current status quo regarding the war in Ukraine until the next Executive Committee meeting on November 27.

The meeting concluded with a special ceremony with long-standing Global Partner Molten to mark the extension of its historic partnership with FIBA.