By Lefteris Moutis/ moutis@eurohoops.net
FIBA’s central board decided to change completely the landscape of the world basketball as we knew it. The new calendar will be applied from 2017 until 2030 and according to that the next World Cup after Spain 2014 will be held in 2019 in order not to coincide with the FIFA World Cup. Also, all continent championships – like Eurobasket – will be held every four years after 2017 and the teams will earn a place there after a special qualification round.
This is the reason of a total disagreement between Euroleague and FIBA – and probably also with the NBA – because the qualification games have been scheduled during the season. For example the dates for the qualification round of the 2019’s World Cup are: 20-28/11/17, 19-27/2/18, 25/6-3/7/18, 17/9-25/9/18, 26/11-4/12/18 and 18/2-26-2/19.
In addition, FIBA decided to organize four qualification rounds for the Olympic games of 2020 in Japan. The only good news for the players who want desperately to rest is that every four years there will be a gap, a summer without a big event. An interesting footnote is that in the official press release about the changes, none of the above details are announced, despite being one of the main subjects discussed.