The IWBF Executive Council gathered on 9 & 10 April 2022 at the Patrick Baumann House of Basketball in Mies, Switzerland. The weekend was the first time since November 2019 that the IWBF Executive Council had met in-person due to the COVID pandemic.
All members of the Executive Council were present apart from the Asia Oceania Zone President Saad Alazmaa. Zone Secretary Generals and a representative from the Players’ Commission were also present as invited guests.
Across a fruitful two days of meetings at FIBA headquarters, reports were given from each of the Commissions and each of the Zones reflecting on their recent activities and plans for the year ahead.
Given the packed calendar of competitions scheduled for 2022 an overview of the preparations were given for the 2022 IWBF World Championships, the IWBF Men’s U23 World Championship, as well as the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games where 3x3 wheelchair basketball will make its debut. There was also an update on the proposed qualification process for the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, which is awaiting IPC feedback and approval.
IWBF memberships continue to grow with the approval of four new membership submissions as IWBF welcomed the Cameroonian Sport Federation for Physically Disabled Persons, National Paralympic Committee of Montenegro, Wheelchair Basketball Eswatini, and the Tunisian Federation of Sports for Disabled, taking its total membership count to 104 members.
Looking to the future, the IWBF Executive Council agreed on the importance of a global strategy and the decision was taken to launch a consultation process that will inform and assist in creating a 10-year strategy for the IWBF and the sport of wheelchair basketball.
During the weekend, IWBF President Ulf Mehrens and FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis signed an addendum to the Memorandum of Understanding between the two federations regarding FIBA Marketing holding IWBF’s exclusive marketing rights.
The visit also provided an opportunity for the IWBF Executive Council to meet with some of the members of the newly created IWBF Players’ Commission, who hosted their premier meeting at the Patrick Baumann House of Basketball on Friday 8 April.
The assembly was the penultimate meeting of the current IWBF Executive Council ahead of the 2022 IWBF World Congress where elections will be held to decide on a new Executive Council for the next four-year cycle. Alongside the IWBF World Forum, the Congress will take place between 24 – 26 November during the IWBF 2022 World Championships hosted in Dubai, UAE.
