According to the requirements of the International Basketball Federation FIBA, there must be more than 10,000 seats in the hall of the European Championships.
Finland will host the first round of the European Men’s Basketball Championships in 2025. The International Basketball Federation FIBA today announced the host countries. In addition to Finland, initial blocks were granted to Latvia and Cyprus. The playoffs are played in Latvia. The Games will be played in August-September 2025.
Ukraine was also one of the countries applying for hostage. At its meeting, FIBA decided to continue discussions with Ukraine on the organization of the fourth European Championship. The deadline for discussions was set for November 2022.
Finland last hosted the opening round of the European Championships in 2017. The event was a great success both sportingly and financially. On-site matches were watched by 88,000 spectators and the atmosphere in Finnish matches was on the roof. Finland won four of the five matches in the first round, including France and Poland in overtime and Greece. According to a study commissioned by FIBA, the Games had an impact of EUR 41.3 million in Helsinki.
– In the search, we emphasized that we organized a very successful event in 2017 by all measures. We still want to improve certain things, CEO of the Basketball Association Ari Tammivaara said to Sport.
The starting block is open. In 2017, they played in the Arena in Ilmala, Helsinki, and even now the search was done in the name of Helsinki, but playing in the hall is not an option at the moment. Its owners include the Russians on the Western sanctions lists. The Basketball Association is in no hurry with the decision, but Tampere’s new arena is an alternative venue.
– The search was submitted in August 2021, when there was no information about the unfortunate current situation. Under these circumstances, we will by no means be able to play in Helsinki. According to FIBA standards, the hall must have more than 10,000 seats. There are not very many such halls in Finland, Tammivaara said.
– We have talked to Tampere and the city of Tampere has responded positively. We do not have a precise timetable, but with a terribly fast timetable, there is no need to make a decision.
Just over three years is a long time, but the situation in Susijeng looks good. New young players have joined the team and hard scalps have been added.
– It was surprisingly small that Finland won the reigning European champion and Olympic champion Slovenia twice in February, also away. I consider it one of the biggest sports surprises of the year. It tells about the team’s potential, especially the fact that there were young players of the future in the decisive roles, Tammivaara stated.
However, the most interesting name for the audience would be NBA star Lauri Markkanen. He is, of course, hoped to be involved in the home races.
– It’s a game table where we’re not alone. The NBA defines matters carefully and negotiates with FIBA. The premise is that whenever the NBA season is not running, NBA players are available, but it is always negotiated separately.