For now, Eurobasket 2015 will still be in Ukraine as the board of FIBA Europe concluded their penultimate meeting in the 2010-2014 term of office over the weekend in Munich.
However, the under-18 European Championships, Division B tournament, originally set for Donetsk will now be moved to Bulgaria. The tournament begins July 24 and runs through to August 3.
The FIBA Europe board’s decision to support the Ukrainian Basketball Federation in concentrating all their resources on next year’s Eurobasket project has been seen as slightly surprising, but with Ukraine looking for closer ties to the European Union, and with the work that had already gone in to hosting the 2015 tournament before the political unrest, the board are instead giving the hosts time to prepare and to think about its next steps.
The risk is that with Ukraine’s ties becoming closer with the EU, it might have an effect on the Russian government who do not want their neighbours to sign a treaty with the EU. The situation between the two countries remains unstable.
Earlier in the week, FIBA Europe issued a statement saying that Eurobasket tournament director, Markian Lubkivskyi’s comments about Ukraine stepping down as hosts for next year were not in fact public comments but merely a private viewpoint of his. And that Ukraine’s decision to step down as the hosts of next year’s Eurobasket was untrue.
The board will meet again in Munich on May 15 as the Ukrainian Basketball Federation will update them on the current situation in Ukraine and present any back-up plans on offer.
