Angola confirmed as hosts of the 2023 FIBA AfroCan
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Loading... - Kofi Eshun
- 16 May 2023
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FIBA Africa has officially announced Angola as the host nation for the 2023 FIBA AfroCan, which was confirmed during a ceremony held in the country's capital city of Luanda. The decision to award Angola the opportunity to host the event marks the second time that FIBA AfroCan has been held, with the first edition taking place in Mali in 2019. The 2023 edition of the FIBA AfroCan is scheduled to take place between July 8th and 16th.
Furthermore, Angola hosted the second round of Group E of the 2023 FIBA Basketball World Cup African Qualifiers from February 24th to 26th. FIBA AfroCan is a quadrennial continental tournament involving 12 nations, aimed at home-based players. Except for the semi-finalist teams of the last edition of the tournament, the remaining eight teams qualified through regional qualifiers from all FIBA Africa seven zones.
Anibal Manave, the FIBA Africa President, applauded Angola for their hosting experience and capabilities. He encouraged the Southern African country to make the 2023 FIBA AfroCan a successful event. "AfroCan is a huge part of our strategy," said Manave. "It allows national federations to get organised and gives new basketball talents a chance to play at high level at some point in their careers. I would like to wish Angola good luck, and a good organization of this event, and let Angola be Angola. They are good hosts; they are a well-organised country, and this is important for FIBA Africa's strategy."
As of now, teams qualified for the 2023 FIBA AfroCan include reigning champions DR Congo, Kenya (who finished second in 2019), Angola (who finished third), and Morocco.
Jose Moniz, the President of the Angolan Basketball Federation (FAB), expressed his gratitude towards FIBA Africa's decision to grant Angola the hosting rights of the event. Moniz stated, "It's crucial for us to organize such an event because we have been working extremely hard on youth basketball programs. Our objective is to keep our youth basketball programs active. We have several infrastructures that we must put to public usage, and this is a great opportunity to do so. We have quality venues in Malanje, Namibe, Huila, and Benguela. We hope to take a competition like this to places outside of the capital."
It is yet to be determined if FAB will concentrate the 2023 FIBA AfroCan in Luanda or add another host province. "We aim to give a positive response to the FIBA Africa President's encouragement of trying to organize this event across two different provinces," stated Silvio Lemos, the FAB vice president. "We have the logistical capacity to organize this event. In partnership with the Angolan Government, we'll evaluate which other province can meet the demands of this competition," Lemos stressed.
