MIES (2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup) - On Friday 7 August, FIBA's Central Board will decide and announce who of the People's Republic of China or the Republic of the Philippines will host the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup.

In the lead-up to the decision, FIBA.com takes a closer look at the proposals made by both countries, focusing on four key areas:
1. Vision and concept
2. Experience in hosting events
3. Basketball history
4. Cities and venues

Here, the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) provides information about the country's basketball history.

China 2019 - A rich basketball tradition that keeps growing

Basketball is currently one of the most popular sports in China and has the biggest number of people involved in the game. An estimated 300 million Chinese people play basketball! This wonderful sport is the most popular school sport and the most popular sport among Chinese youth. Basketball courts can be found everywhere in China. There is even a basketball court in the Forbidden City!

A rich history
China has had a long basketball tradition, dating back to the beginning of the sport itself. Basketball has developed even more during the first half of the 20th century, with the creation of teams and the foundation of the China Basketball League in 1954. From 1975, the Chinese Basketball team started to participate again in international competitions, where it was able to show its passion for the sport on a world stage!

The CBA League: in constant evolution
The creation of the CBA League confirmed the status of basketball as the most popular sport in China. The strength of the Chinese basketball development program gained international awareness when Yao Ming was selected first overall in the 2002 NBA Draft by the Houston Rockets. Since then, the sport has become more popular, year after year. For 2014-2015, the league expanded to 20 teams with 406 games played in total. Over 1.5 million people went to the arenas to watch the matches and in 2015, six matches of the CBA League Final reached 190 million viewers! The main sponsor LI-NING offered a five-year contract with 400 million renminbi (RMB) each year for the league. With such popularity of the sport among Chinese basketball fans but also private investors, the Chinese market constitutes a unique opportunity for FIBA to make the sport more popular than ever before and to get major investments for the sport.

With this fantastic following, China has also been able to attract world renowned basketball figures to the CBA League, including Stephon Marbury, Tracy McGrady, Steve Francis, Kenyon Martin, JR Smith, Wilson Chandler and Metta World Peace. With this new international reach of the CBA League, China definitely has become the best platform to promote the sport of basketball not only to the biggest market on the planet but also to the world.

Team China basketball: a strong record
Team China is on the move, with global achievements of eighth place in the World Championships and the Olympic Games. And at the continental level, the team has an even more prestigious record. Team China is a 15-time FIBA Asia Champion and 7-time Asian Games Champion.

With the commitment of the Chinese Government to develop the sport even further, China's reputation as a Basketball nation is set to keep increasing. Hosting the FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2019 is part of this plan. It offers a unique opportunity for China to promote the sport more than ever before and provides the best platform for the development of basketball in the world’s biggest market and around the planet.