Lagging behind in development compared to other nations in the world, the French 3×3 is about to reach a new level. According to our information, the French Basketball Federation (FFBB) will professionalize the discipline. Contacted, the federal authority did not wish to respond to our requests.
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Truly launched in France in 2012 in the form of SuperLeague 3×3 with a French Open as the final phase, 3×3 basketball did not bring back any Olympic medals from Tokyo. This highlighted the limits of the French 3×3. Les Bleues failed at the foot of the podium while their male counterparts did not play in the Olympic tournament after their elimination at the Olympic Qualification Tournament in Tokyo. A TQO that they could have avoided if they had gleaned enough points before.
A schedule entirely dedicated to 3×3
Faced with these shortcomings, a professional team is about to emerge. A call for applications has been launched by the FFBB. Six players playing in Pro B, NM1 and NM2 should therefore be selected, who will receive a monthly salary of 4,000 euros in addition to the “prize money” won in the various tournaments played. Enough to allow them to devote themselves full-time to 3×3, and to abandon 5×5 competitions. A significant advance since the tricolor could only glean points during international competitions with France.
Bring more FIBA ranking points to France
The operation of the FIBA 3×3 ranking is substantially identical to that offered by the ATP, the international men’s tennis circuit. The best elements of each nation bring points to their national selections to qualify them for international deadlines. And to avoid finding themselves back against the wall before the TQO as was the case for the Blues.
Even if several girls have gained notoriety thanks to 3×3, such as Laëtitia Guapo, Migna Touré or Marie-Ève Paget, this new discipline still needs ambassadors to drain a wider enthusiasm. The Serbian Dusan Bulut is, for example, a real star in his country. Which, two years before the 2024 Paris Olympics, is unimaginable in France. The FFBB therefore wants to bet more on the 3×3, especially since the host countries are not automatically qualified for the competitions they organize. In the manner of what the French n°1, Kévin Corre, knows with the Saudis of Jeddah, the tricolor squad will have to bring a maximum of points to France, in order to be better classified in the world ranking.
By Théo Quintard and Gabriel Pantel-Jouve,
