BEIRUT - There was a real buzz in Beirut this week as 15 national member federations from Asia came together for a landmark Marketing and Communications Workshop in preparation for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 Qualifiers.

Following on from a highly-successful European edition of the workshop held in Munich last week, the two-day event organised by FIBA's Regional Office in Asia was the first-ever joint Asia/Oceania marketing workshop as participants from Australia and New Zealand joined their Asian counterparts to pool ideas, experiences and gain some expert insight.

The workshop was an important illustration of FIBA's continued commitment to prepare all of its national member federations all around the world for the New Competition System which comes into effect in November.

There was a strong emphasis on all aspects of marketing and communications, with delegates left highly enthused by the experience.

"It's a big chance to spread the game of basketball in Japan," said Mitsuhiro Hirota, the Deputy Secretary General of the Japanese Basketball Federation (JBA). "This workshop helped us in understanding how to show and tell the sponsors about the New Competition System as well the technique and methods in exposing it to the fans and the world."

With active participation at the heart of the workshop, delegates made the most of the opportunities available to gather information and network with each other.

Everyone was provided with the latest information relating to the implementation of the Qualifiers, along with expert analysis on how to package the rights, as well as selling and promoting them by using the tools provided by FIBA.

"It gave us a clear understanding of how we should be able to 'sell' the New Competition System to the sponsors - as well as the technique and tools of exposing our national teams," said Basketball Australia (BA) CEO, Anthony Moore.

The event in Beirut was the second of four global workshops, with further ones scheduled to take place in Africa and the Americas.

FIBA