Joe Apu
Former president of FIBA president of FIBA Africa, Hamane Niang of Mali has been elected the new President of FIBA. He was elected Friday by delegates from 156 National Federations in attendance at the XXI FIBACongress alongside new Central Board members for the 2019-2023 term of office.
Hamane Niang, who succeeds Horacio Muratore in becoming the new President of FIBA, was elected unanimously by all in attendance. Hamane Niang has been Vice President of FIBA and also President of FIBAAfrica for the period of 2014- 2019, having formerly been president of the Mali Basketball Federation and also a Mali Minister of Sport.
Hamane Niang said, “I sincerely thank all the National Federations for the trust they have placed in me today. It is with humility that I accept this responsibility placed upon me. I promise to dedicate myself fully to FIBAduring my tenure and to serve the interests of our beloved sport across all corners of the world. We are the governing body of basketball and we must continue to play the leading role in developing our sport. Together, we can become the most popular sports community in the world.”
Ingo Weiss from Germany was re-elected for his second term as FIBA Treasurer.
These Central Board members, along with the newly elected President and Treasurer will join FIBASecretary General Andreas Zagklis as well as the Presidents of FIBA’s five regions:Anibal Manave ofAfrica, Carol Callan of theAmericas, Sheikh Saud Bin Ali Al-Thani of Asia, Turgay Demirel of Europe and Burton Shipley of Oceania for the new term.
The Central Board will appoint to the Central Board a representative of the National Basketball Association (NBA) of the USAand a representative of the players. In addition, the Central Board may co-opt additional members (with full voting rights) for the vision, skill and special expertise that they will bring.
The newly-formed Central Board will meet for the first time on Saturday, September 14 in Beijing, on the occasion of the final weekend of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019.