Moscow to Host 2014 FIBA 3×3 World Championships

The 2014 FIBA 3×3 World Championships will take place in Russia’s capital city of Moscow, FIBA announced on Tuesday.

The tournament will be held over the course of five days in June 2014. The exact dates are to be announced at a later stage.

The Russian Basketball Federation (RBF), one of Europe’s pioneers in developing 3×3, will host the second edition of the tournament that was first held in Athens, Greece in 2012.

The 2014 FIBA 3×3 World Championships will follow a similar competition format to that used in the inaugural event, with men’s and women’s tournaments as well as individual contests. In 2012, 48 teams (24 men’s and 24 women’s) from 32 countries competed in the Greek capital.

“We are extremely pleased to stage the 2014 FIBA 3×3 World Championships in Moscow,” said FIBA President Yvan Mainini. “Russia has been a motor in the promotion of 3×3 basketball and showed their competitiveness in Athens last year.”

Russia’s teams finished in the top 10 at the 2012 FIBA 3×3 World Championships, with the men’s side coming in fifth and the women’s ninth.

“The tournament that Russia will host in 2014 will be very interesting,” said Russia’s Minister of Sport Vitaly Mutko. “This sport is getting more popular here. Every year we organise the final of Russian competitions, where thousands of teams gather. We support FIBA’s efforts to make 3×3 an Olympic discipline.”

FIBA Secretary General and International Olympic Committee (IOC) Member Patrick Baumann explained what made Russia stand out from the list of candidate cities.

“We were very pleased with the high interest and number of requests we received to host this tournament. Ultimately, we decided that it has to take place in Russia, a country with such a long basketball and 3×3 tradition,” he said.

RBF President Alexander Krasnenkov explained how hosting the event will affect basketball in Russia.

“The hosting of the 2014 FIBA 3×3 World Championships will definitely have a positive impact on the development of basketball all over Russia,” he said.

“Just the fact that such a big tournament will take place in our country will demonstrate that we are capable of hosting the events of the highest level.”

The FIBA 3×3 World Championships are organised every two years, while the FIBA U18 3×3 World Championships are held on an annual basis – except the year of the Youth Olympic Games. As such, 2013 will see the FIBA 3×3 U18 World Championships take place in Jakarta, Indonesia from 26-29 September.