By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
In a highly symbolic move, a woman head of state, Katerina Sakellaropoulou who is the President of the Hellenic Republic, visited the House of Basketball in Mies, Switzerland, meeting FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis and confirming a historic arena as the Eurobasket 2025 venue.
The Peace and Friendship stadium – with the Greek acronym SEF – where Greece won the men’s Eurobasket 1987 and will host the upcoming Olympic Qualifiers will also be the home of the upcoming Women’s Eurobasket 2025 in co-host country, Greece.
Per the press release: The iconic Peace and Friendship Stadium in Piraeus has been officially named as the FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2025 venue in Greece.
Home to some of the most passionate basketball fans in Europe, the port city of Piraeus will serve as the backdrop for the Final Phase of the competition in addition to hosting one of the four groups.
Steeped in history and renowned for hosting top-level events across different sports, the 11,847-seat Peace and Friendship Stadium will add to its legacy by welcoming the FIBA Women’s EuroBasket for the first time, having also been confirmed to host one of the four FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments in 2024.
The announcement of Piraeus as the host city for FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2025 coincides with the visit of the President of the Hellenic Republic, Katerina Sakellaropoulou, and Hellenic Basketball Federation President Vaggelis Liolios to the House of Basketball in Mies, Switzerland, where they met with FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis.
The only previous time the FIBA Women’s EuroBasket was hosted in Greece was in 2003 when the event took place in the cities of Amaliada, Patras, and Pyrgos.
“The growth of the popularity of the FIBA Women’s EuroBasket, and women’s basketball in Europe at large, has been unprecedented in recent years and we’re thrilled to be able to bring our flagship event to the historic Peace and Friendship Stadium,” said FIBA Executive Director Europe Kamil Novak.
“The selection of Piraeus as one of the host cities, alongside the newly introduced multi-country hosting format gives the competition and our athletes a perfect platform to continue expanding the reach and impact of women’s basketball in Europe.”
The next edition of Europe’s flagship women’s basketball competition marks a historic milestone as the first ever to be organized across four nations. Czechia, Germany, Greece and Italy were confirmed as co-hosts earlier this year.