International Basketball Federation

By: Mark Boswell, Dexter Washington, Neal Turner, and Cory Wahl

What Is FIBA?

FIBA is the world governing body for basketball. It’s an independent association formed by 213 National federations of basketball throughout the world. The hands on the basketball in the logo represents the globalization of basketball

Origin

FIBA was founded on June 18, 1932 in Geneva, Switzerland by the National Federations of Argentina, Czechoslovakia, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Portugal, Romania, and Switzerland.

FIBA has organized a FIBA World Championship for men since 1950 and a World Championship for women since 1953. Both events are held every four years, alternating with the Olympics.

Top-Level Management

President: Mr. Yvan Mainini,

France

Security General: Mr.

Patrick Baumann, Switzerland

Security General

Emeritus: Mr. Borislav

Stankovic, Serbia

Treasurer: Mr. Manfred Ströher

Vice-President: Mr. Horacio Muratore, Argentina

Tournament Field

FIBA EuroBasket (Europe) – 6 countries

FIBA Africa Championship (Africa) – 3 countries

FIBA Asia Championship (Asia) – 3 countries

FIBA Americas Championship (North, Central, and South America) – 4 countries

Tournament Field (Cont’d)

FIBA Oceania Championship (Oceania) – 2 countries

Defending Olympic Champion – 1 country

Host team – 1 country

FIBA-selected wild cards – 4 countries based on economic, sporting, and governance criteria

Number of Countries by Zone

53

44

44

51

21

AfricaAsiaAmericasEuropeOceania

New Rules as of 2014

FIBA is trying to replace the Olympics as the international flagship event.

Oceania and Asia will be combined into one Regional Division.

Regional Tournaments will occur ever 4 years, not 2.

The tournament will change from the FIBA World Championship to the FIBA World Cup and will take place in alternating years as the FIFA World Cup in order to promote the event.

FIBA tournament will now have 32 teams, instead of 24.

The top 8 teams at the FIBA World Cup will automatically qualify for the Olympics, instead of just the champion.

FIBA Rules vs. NBA Rules Video

FIBA Court vs. NBA Court

David Stern’s Impact on the Game

One of the reasons why some of these changes are being made is because David Stern and the NBA want the FIBA World Championship to become bigger than the Olympics. That way U.S. sports media can generate more revenue. Stern wants the Olympics to have an age limit of 23 and under to protect his players, keep his owners happy, promote FIBA and try to create more money.

Growth

The FIBA World Championships are growing as more countries become FIBA members. The globalization of the game is a key reason as to why the tournament is expanding to 32 teams. Also, adding more teams will help for the sport to gain more exposure as a whole.

RankingsRank Points

1. USA 952

2. Spain 870

3. Argentina 498

4. Greece 418

5. Lithuania 406

6. Russia 363

7. Turkey 302

8. France 260

9. Brazil 254

10. Australia 234

Asian Championship protest by Qatar

Players on Qatar purposely fouled out during the 2011 Asian championships.

Act was in protest towards FIBA for banning 5 players who were “naturalized.”

Sparked outrage due to short time of games. (10min)

Courtesy of China Daily

Uniform Accommodation for Religious Reasons

Israeli women’s basketball player Naama Shafir was denied a request to wear an undershirt during play in 2011 championships in Poland.

Cited religious reasoning

FIBA Europe spokesperson Sakis Kontos: "The global rules of the game clearly state that a team must be uniformly dressed, and the rules must always be upheld," Kontos said.

New York-Anti Defamation League

Courtesy of: J. Levine Co

Ap

Changes in Age Limit for the 2016 Olympics

After 2012 London Olympic Games FIBA pondered a 23 & under age limit for 2016

Possibility drew outrage from many players, most notably LeBron James and Kobe Bryant

"I may play in Rio, but if the 23 rule goes in, I'm not playing," LeBron James said. "All my guys ain't playing either. There's no chance. Teams are built on friendship and camaraderie and being together. You can't just throw a team together and see what happens. That's what happened in '04, and we got smashed. It takes a three-year commitment to win. I love what we've got going on with USA Basketball, and I'm happy to be a part of it.“

Kobe was more blunt stating-“It’s a stupid idea, stupid,’ Bryant, 33, told reporters on Tuesday ahead of Team USA’s Olympic friendly against Britain on Thursday. ‘It should be a (player’s) choice.”

Courtesy of: CBS Sports

Great Britain Cuts Basketball Program

UK budget is a record of $565 million for 2016 Olympic games

England’s basketball program cut from $13 million to $0

Outrage from FIBA and face of England’s basketball program Luol Deng

Luol Deng Open Letter

FIBA openly backs British basketball program

Courtesy of Elite Daily

Medal Breakdown

Country Gold Silver Bronze Participation

1. Yugoslavia 5 3 2 12

2. USA 4 3 4 16

3. Soviet Union 3 3 2 9

4. Brazil 2 2 2 16

5. Greece 1 1 0 12

6. Spain 1 0 0 10

7. Russia 0 2 0 4

8. Greece 0 1 0 6

9. Turkey 0 1 0 3

10. Chile 0 0 2 2

History of Past Champions

Great Individual & Team Performances

Most points in a game (team): Brazil with 154 in 1978.

Largest Margin: Soviet Union by 92 (140-48) over Central African Republic

Top Scorer: (BRA) Oscar Schmidt with 843 points in 35 games

Most Points Scored in a Game: (KOR) Jae Hur with 54 points.

Bibliography

2016 Rio Olympics: Luol Deng Writes Basketball Funding Letter to British Prime Minister. (n.d.). FanSided. Retrieved February 5, 2013, from http://fansided.com/2013/01/28/2016-rio-olympics-luol-deng-writes-basketball-funding-letter-to-british-prime-minister/

FIBA. FIBA Archive Historical Data From FIBA and FIBA Zones Events Since 1930. Retrieved February 5, 2013 Accessed from: http://archive.fiba.com/pages/eng/fa/keyfigures/p/rc/ATTM/tid//tid2//lid_38179_ct/0/cid/WMM/_//index.html

FIBA. FIBA World Championship Records. n.d. Retrieved February 5, 2013. From: http://www.fiba.com/downloads/v3_abouFiba/mp/FIBA_world_championships_records.pdf

FIBA head: No plans to change Olympic basketball age limit. (n.d.). USATODAY.COM. Retrieved February 5, 2013, from http://www.usatoday.com/sports/olympics/london/basketball/story/2012-08-11/fiba-nba-under-23-brazil/56969286/1

Bibliography (Cont’d)

FIBA Will Definitely Not Allow Naama Shafir To Wear Her Undershirt. (n.d.). Business Insider. Retrieved February 5, 2013, from http://www.businessinsider.com/fiba-will-definitely-not-allow-naama-shafir-to-wear-her-undershirt-2011-6

Gallagher, B. (2013, January 29). World body FIBA backs GB Basketball’s fight with UK Sport over funding. Telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved from http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/basketball/9835855/World-body-FIBA-backs-GB-Basketballs-fight-with-UK-Sport-over-funding.html

Kobe Bryant Thinks David Stern’s Olympic Age Limit Idea is Stupid. (n.d.). Slam Magazine. Retrieved February 5, 2013, from http://www.slamonline.com/online/nba/2012/07/kobe-bryant-thinks-david-sterns-olympic-age-limit-idea-is-stupid/

Xiaochen, Sun. Qatar fouls itself out again in protest. China Daily. Accessed: February 4, 2013. Retreived from: http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/cndy/2011-09/17/content_13724461.htm