 |
|
Russia Weighing Up Bid for 2019 Basketball World Cup |
|
|
Basketball - 25 Jan 2013 - Russia is considering mounting a bid to host the FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2019 even though doubts have been raised over the state of its arenas.
The tournament is switching to a new cycle and expanding from 24 to 32 teams after the 2014 event in Spain, and the Russian Basketball Federation believes it can build on its country’s hosting of soccer’s Fifa World Cup in 2018.
RBF president Alexander Krasnenkov told R-Sport: “We’re looking at 2019, that’s when the World Cup is scheduled for. We’re capable of hosting the football World Cup so why can’t we hold the basketball one too?”
The federation had originally planned to bid for EuroBasket, basketball’s European championships, in 2017, but was discouraged by the Russian government because of the need to focus on other events, including the Fifa World Cup and the 2014 winter Olympics in Sochi.
Krasnenkov said: “We talked to the sports ministry. The ministry asked us not to put in Russia’s candidature until 2018 [when the Basketball World Cup was originally scheduled for] . The country has gathered a lot of obligations for the period until 2018 and needs to host a lot of major competitions.”
Russia is one of the world’s leading basketball nations but doubts over its ability to host a major tournament have been expressed by Sergei Ivanov, the president of the VTB United League, which includes clubs from across eastern Europe.
Ivanov said last week: “To hold the European championships, let alone the world championships, you need eight arenas. And do we have that.
He claimed that Russia has no more than five venues which would be suitable to stage top-level games.
Ivanov said: “If we’re talking about stadiums, then, yes, they’re being built, but there’s a bad arena in Samara, an old one in Krasnoyarsk and CSKA [Moscow] has an ugly arena.”
Sportcal
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
| Powered by |  |
|
|