Basketball's European Championship for Small Countries will go ahead
FIBA has confirmed this week that the European Championship for Small Countries will go ahead this summer. The decision comes following a meeting of the FIBA board.
The dates for both tournaments have been changed, however. Now, Ireland’s senior women will compete in Cyprus from July 20 to 25, while the men’s tournament, which was due to be hosted in Limerick, has been switched by FIBA to Dublin and will be held at the National Basketball Arena from August 10 to 15. Ireland’s senior men and women will also be competing in the 3x3 Euro Cup in Constanta, Romania, from June 26/27.
Ireland’s Under 16s, Under 18s and Under 20s won’t get to play in European Championships this summer though, with all youth championships cancelled. They are to be replaced by the European Challenge 2021, a round-robin tournament which will have a maximum of six countries in a group. Each group will be seeded. Participation in the European Challenge 2021 is not mandatory and hosting of each tournament is still to be decided.
Basketball Ireland CEO and FIBA board member Bernard O’Byrne commented: “It is a mixed bag of news. Naturally we are delighted to see our senior men’s and women’s teams being able to compete at the European Championship for Small Countries this summer.
“The decision to move the men’s tournament from Limerick was a difficult one, but it was made after consultation with all the stakeholders involved, including the University of Limerick. FIBA made the call based on logistics, which are naturally more difficult during Covid-times. I’d like to thank UL for all their hard work and dedication, and naturally we’d like to host a major tournament there at some point in the future.”
Mr. O'Byrne added: “For our underage teams, while there is no European Championship to target this summer, they will potentially be able to compete at the European Challenge 2021. Basketball Ireland will begin discussions with the coaches, players and parents involved and see what is possible this summer.”
Ireland senior men’s coach Mark Keenan said: “We have been back training for a couple of weeks and that will be ramped up now that we’ve had confirmation that the European Championship for Small Countries is going ahead.
“The switch to August will give us more time to prepare, which is particularly important because our domestic players have not had game-time this season. Our players who are based abroad have been returning home over the last few weeks to join up with the squad and this will also give us a longer period to integrate them. The tournament being switched from Limerick to Dublin is an understandable one, given the times we’re in at the moment.”
Ireland senior women’s head coach James Weldon commented: “We’re obviously delighted to get the opportunity to compete this summer. It’s a massive boost to the squad after a long, arduous year without basketball for our players.
“The girls have put in a huge amount of work during the various lockdowns to keep themselves in shape and that’s borne fruit, which has been illustrated at training over the last few weeks. Now we have a tournament to prepare for and it’s hugely exciting.”