FIBA Europe General Assembly in Riga, Latvia

May 23-25, 2025

“At the invitation of FIBA Europe, Petr and I had the opportunity, as in previous years, to represent IWBF Europe and report on wheelchair basketball activities.

In my report focused primarily on the extremely successful 3X3 European Championship/European Cup in Vienna, which took place in front of thousands of enthusiastic spectators and was a milestone towards inclusion, not only in Europe but worldwide. Based on a perfect collaboration between FIBA and IWBF Europe – many thanks to GS FIBA Andreas Zagklis and GS FIBA Europe Kamil Novak.

Furthermore, highlighted the outstanding successes of the European teams at the Paralympic games in Paris 2024 – gold for the Dutch women, silver for Great Britain, and bronze for Germany in the men’s category.

Also reported on the successful U23 European Championship in Madrid – qualification for the U23 World Championship in Sao Paulo and the B Division European Championship in Sarajevo.

Mentioned that our European club competitions successfully concluded with the final rounds, and Albacete won the Champions League title for the fourth time in a row.

Particularly highlighted the BIG – Basketball Inclusive Games event, partnered by the Bulgarian Basketball Federation. We will see its success in the near future with the participation of new member countries (e.g., Romania) in international competitions at the club and national team level. Thanks to Carmen Tocala for her commitment.

Petr and I took the opportunity to discuss wheelchair basketball in depth with representatives from the Netherlands, Latvia, Luxembourg, Romania, Croatia, Norway, Denmark, Turkey, and Portugal.”

Walter Pfaller
President of the IWBF Europe