Heraklion to host FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2019

FIBA's Executive Committee met for the second time in 2018 at the House of Basketball on Tuesday.

The meeting came on the eve of an exciting and busy period for basketball's world governing body. The Second Round of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Qualifiers tips off on Thursday and the FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2018 follows shortly thereafter (September 22-30). All the while, 3x3 events - as part of the World Tour season as well as in national team competitions - are taking place all across the globe on a weekly basis.

FIBA is also gearing up to hosts its first-ever World Basketball Summit in Xi'an, China in early October, while new campaigns of men's and women's club competitions across the regions are just weeks away.

Here are the main takeaways from the Executive Committee meeting.
 

FIBA's flagship women's competition is set to get underway in a little over a week's time in Tenerife, the biggest of Spain's Canary Islands. The Executive Committee was brought up to speed on the most recent milestones and promotional activities to build up to the tournament, including: the unveiling of the competition's official Molten game ball, Tina the turtle being introduced to the world as the competition's mascot, the presentation of the medals which will be given to players and teams that finish on the podium and the launch of the competition's official App. 
 

Friday, August 31, marked exactly one year to the start of the first-ever World Cup in China and FIBA marked the special occasion by launching a series of Tissot countdown clocks unveiling ceremonies in the eight host cities. This started in Beijing on that day and culminated with the eighth and final clock being revealed in Guangzhou on Wednesday.

On Thursday, the fourth window of the Qualifiers gets underway as 60 teams all around the world resume their journeys on the Road to China 2019. 
 

Following the approval of the system by FIBA's Central Board in June, the Executive Committee, in turn, approved the guidelines to be shared with the National Federations.
 

The Executive Committee confirmed the host countries for the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cups 2019 confirmed. The men's tournament will take place in Heraklion, on the Greek island of Crete, from June 29-July 7 of next year. Then, from 20-28 July, the Thai capital of Bangkok will host the women's event.
 

The FIBA 3x3 men's professional circuit continued to grow in 2018 with more than 1,5 million US dollars in prize money and 650 World Tour qualifiers from 49 countries. The Executive Committee also noted that it is high time to develop women's 3x3 and provide athletes with an opportunity to play high-level events regularly to prepare for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. To that end, a 3x3 professional circuit for women will be launched in 2019.
 

Mexico: The Executive Committee acknowledged the resignation of the National Federation (ADEMEBA)'s provisional President. A new election will take place under the supervision of the Task Force Mexico.
Peru: The Executive Committee announced the suspension of the National Federation (FDPB) for failing to comply with the requirements set out in FIBA's General Statutes on the matters of governance and electoral procedures.
 

The Executive Committee also held extensive discussions on the matter of governance and ONE FIBA in anticipation of the new cycle (2019-2023) coming into effect after the FIBA World Congress in Beijing, China in August of next year.