Thursday, November 28, 2024, 12:17
The Spanish Basketball Federation (FEB), in collaboration with the Community of Madrid, has presented the candidacy of the Spanish capital to be one of the venues for Eurobasket 2029. The event, which would be held at the WiZink Center, would include a phase of groups, in which the Spanish basketball team would participate, with a total of 15 games, in addition to the qualifying rounds from the round of 16 to the grand final. In total, the venue would host 31 meetings over 22 days.
Madrid is positioned as a favorite to become the venue, thanks to its solid organizational experience in international sporting events, such as the 2014 Basketball World Cup or the 2015 Euroleague Final Four. In addition, the FEB stands out as one of the most powerful federations of world basketball, with teams that have reached the top positions in the international ranking in recent years.
The deadline for submitting candidatures ends this week, and the final decision on the venues for Eurobasket 2029 will be announced by FIBA in May 2025. Madrid is one of the strongest candidates, backed by its sporting tradition and organizational capacity.
A consolidated model
The multi-venue format has been common in the European national team championships since 2015, when it was implemented for the first time. In the next Eurobasket in 2025, Spain will defend its title in a tournament that will be held in Latvia (Riga), Cyprus (Limassol), Finland (Tampere) and Poland (Katowice).
If selected, this would be the fourth time that Spain hosts a Eurobasket. The precedents include the editions of 1973, 1997 and 2007. In the latter, the final also took place at the WiZink Center, where Spain won a bitter silver by losing to Russia, despite being the great favorite.
Economic and cultural impact
The FEB estimates that the economic impact for Madrid could reach 270 million euros, consolidating the capital as a benchmark for sports and cultural tourism. In addition, the event would reinforce the visibility of basketball in Spain, a sport that has more than 411,000 licenses and aims to reach 500,000 in 2030.
The regional government highlights Madrid’s role as an outstanding destination for major sporting events, actively promoting sports tourism through multiple initiatives and collaborations. In 2023 alone, the Community of Madrid hosted more than 400 sporting events, 46 of them national and international.
