FIBA Turns 80!
On June 18th in 1932, in Geneva, Switzerland, representatives of 8 basketball federations, Argentina, Czechoslovakia, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Portugal, Romania and Switzerland met and agreed to form FIBB - later to become FIBA.
On June 18th in 1932, in Geneva, Switzerland, representatives of 8 basketball federations, Argentina, Czechoslovakia, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Portugal, Romania and Switzerland met and agreed to form FIBB - later to become FIBA.
It was a historic move, because prior to that, basketball was under the control of the International Handball Federation.
Our sport made its Olympic debut for men in 1936 when the competition was played on a clay surface - much like the tennis at Roland Garros in France. Twenty one teams took part in the competition. Women had to wait until 1976 before they had a chance at Olympic competition.
The number of member Federations grew slowly in the early years, by 1960 there were only 80. In the next 24 years it almost doubled to 161 and in 2006, Montenegro became the 213 member.
It is keenly anticipated that in our 80th year, FIBA will move into its own headquarters when the keys to the new House of Basketball in Mies, Switzerland are handed over.
An inauguration ceremony will take place in 2013.
If you would like to learn some more snippets of FIBA history, click on this link to the relevant section on the FIBA website.
Happy Birthday FIBA!
