Credit: FIBA
Credit FIBA

As the continental qualifiers of the World Cup 2023 approach, the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) continues its goal of increasing the benefits of the qualifiers to the players.

Points this season

46%
81,5
Points made: 81,5
Accuracy: 46,1%
Place in standings: 1
Record max: 89
Record min: 74
Best scorer: Mindaugas Kuzminskas

On behalf of the basketball ecosystem, it is among the most important priorities that the qualifications contribute to all stakeholders in the most effective way.

Arguing that the growth of national team basketball should be supported in all countries, FIBA, with the men's national team competition system, it implemented in 2017, ensured that the competitions have a clear structure and hierarchy at the global level, while making the calendar more player-friendly and more understandable for basketball fans.

In addition, the fact that national teams play regularly throughout the year creates synergies with club competitions, creating more media coverage and more opportunities for publicity, and has been seen to enhance the commercial potential of basketball.

Main benefits of windows system:

  • Enhanced basketball enjoyment: 1,250 regular and meaningful matches played in more than 140 countries.
  • New interest in basketball: the host country regularly plays official national team matches in front of its fans.
  • A player-friendly system with an off-summer: maximizes the chances of having international stars in top FIBA ​​competitions.
  • Opportunity for new countries and players thanks to regular official competitions.
  • To ensure the visibility of the national team regularly, not only in the summer but throughout the year, and to create synergies with club competitions.
  • Improved structure of the route to the top national team competitions: the clear route to the main FIBA ​​tournaments. 
  • Increased potential for commercial and media partners to be associated with national teams and major FIBA ​​competitions.
  • Development of national federations by providing more resources. 
  • Increased media attention and promotion for national team basketball.

Key changes introduced in 2017:

  1. FIBA ​​Basketball World Cup was moved from 2018 to 2019 and then every four years to avoid conflicts with other major sporting events (2023, 2027, 2031, etc.).
  2. The two-year qualifying period for each FIBA ​​Basketball World Cup, 6 windows for each qualifying period (November, February, June, September, November, February) have been added to the calendar.
  3. FIBA ​​Basketball World Cup was played with 32 teams.
  4. Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Qualifiers were held through the FIBA ​​2019 Basketball World Cup and the four separate FIBA ​​Olympic Qualifiers held in 2021.
  5. Asia and Oceania play together in an Asian region to increase competition.
  6. The next FIBA ​​Basketball World Cup will be held in 2023 and will be held for the first time in 3 host countries, the Philippines, Japan, and Indonesia. The qualifiers for this event began in November 2021.

Reasons for changes:

  1. National teams did not have visibility in their home country. 
  2. National team competitions in selected host countries were held in the summer only. 
  3. 5 Continental regions lacked an easy-to-follow qualifying system. 
  4. No referral to senior national team competitions. Teams could spend a long time without playing a game. 
  5. Unlike other team sports, there were no official regular home matches for all national teams. 
  6. Future participation of top players in senior national team competitions was doubtful. 
  7. Major competitions were always played and won by the same countries, so there was no development potential for most of the national associations. 
  8. While other sports are improving, the economic viability of the current system in this changing environment was risky.

Athletes First:

  1. FIBA's competition structure and schedule have been designed to not only enable basketball to reach its full potential, but also benefit players by reducing their workload. 
  2. In the old system, the best players found themselves in the national team after the tough club season was over, and their work continued throughout the year. 
  3. Basketball is all about the players. Filling arenas, attracting TV viewers, generating income and encouraging young people to play thing is their exciting abilities. 
  4. Players can now have a full summer vacation every four years without national team competitions. They will also have at least one full month off during the FIBA ​​Basketball World Cup and Continental Cups years.
  5. FIBA ​​concludes that this format, introduced in 2017 for participating in major tournaments, will lead to a net reduction in the workload of players by an average of 26% worldwide. This is because the preparation time required for qualifying matches is shortened. 
  6. Critically, this has the effect of reducing the risk of injury, which is a major concern for both FIBA ​​and the players. 

While FIBA ​​has reduced the number of matches in the EuroBasket, Olympic Games, and World Cup Qualifiers with the athletes in mind, at the same time, the number of matches in the Basketball Champions League has decreased by 43 percent compared to its first season.

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