Spanish basketball chiefs have officially launched the men’s 2014 Basketball World Cup, promising to create a legacy for the sport.
At an event in Madrid, the tournament logo was unveiled with a tribute to artist Pablo Picasso contained within its design.
The 2014 competition – where the USA will be the defending champions – will be held in six different host cities: Madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, Seville, Granada and Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, with an number of arena upgrades in the works.
And José Luis Sáez, the President of the Spanish Basketball Federation, hopes it can deliver on and off the court.
“Our commitment and desire is to organise the FIBA Basketball World Cup for everyone. The best way to do that is by giving it a global dimension which, starting in September 2014, will become a true legacy for the whole society,†he said.
“That is why we want to come out of the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup with Spain as a platform for the promotion of basketball and the transmission of its great values as a sport, a focus of economic activity and a tool for social transformation.â€
The tournament itself will be undergoing a makeover. And Baumann claimed that its new name has been introduced because, according to the Commissioner of the NBA, Americans could not grasp the concept of a ‘world championship’.
“We’re in a world where perception is important,†Baumann said. “David Stern has been telling us ‘no one in the US understands what a world championship is’.
“The new name – the FIBA Basketball World Cup – will be easier to spell out in different languages: Coupe du Monde, Copa del Mundo..”
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