The changes aim to boost competition and increase its basketball’s visibility without colliding with FIFA

In 2014, the fourteenth Extraordinary Congress of FIBA ​​took place in Istanbul, during which changes were approved in the world basketball tournaments, to make them more recognized and boost the competition.

Leer en español: Conoce los cambios del mundial de baloncesto de la FIBA 2019

The entity in charge of approving and promoting these changes was the International Basketball Federation, better known as FIBA ​​for its acronym in French, the body in charge of regulating the world standards of basketball and governing international competitions.

One of the most talked about and controversial decisions was the change of the dates of the basketball World Cups to odd years, to stop sharing the calendar with the soccer, hockey and volleyball events, which eclipse this sport. The measure will take effect from 2019 and from that date, the frequency of four years will be maintained.

According to El Tiempo, FIBA ​​explained that this change has as its main objective "to stimulate the global growth of basketball, as well as increase its visibility throughout the world".

However, there are many more reasons why these changes were approved, because in addition to increasing the competition of this sport in the world, FIBA looks for:

• Increase the visibility of national selections in their countries
• Increase the participation of great figures in the tournaments with medals to give greater importance to the World Cup
• Promote the economic growth of this sport
• Encompassing more countries so that basketball reaches places that until now have been marginalized

Also read: The NBA will not be the same without "Manu" Ginóbili

According to the official website of the 2019 Basketball World Cup, it will take place in China from August 31 to September 15. During that period, 32 teams (the host, 12 from Europe, seven from America, seven from the union between the Asia-Pacific region and five from Africa) will play 92 matches and for the first time in history, 7 teams will be classified to participate directly in the Olympic Games of Tokyo 2020.

The qualifications for the FIBA ​​2019 Basketball World Cup began in November 2017 and five other qualifying windows will be held, which will take place over 15 months on the continents of Europe, Africa, America, and Asia.

The classification system implemented by the organization for the 2019 World Cup greatly affects NBA players, as FIBA ​​-through its website- admitted that these players would not be able to participate in the "windows" that coincide with the period of competition in the American league.

The measure not only involves changes in the Basketball World Cup, but also in the Eurobasket, because this competition will be held every four years and not biannually, as it was normally celebrated. It is expected that the decisions made during the Extraordinary Congress of FIBA ​​in Istanbul are the best way to position this sport as one of the most important worldwide.

LatinAmerican Post | Andrea del Pilar Rojas Riaño
Translated from “Fútbol Vs. Baloncesto: Esta es la estrategia de FIBA para no competir con el Mundial”

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