TOKYO (2016 FIBA U17 World Championships for Men and Women) - The fourth editions of the FIBA U17 World Championships for Men and Women will be played jointly in Spain in 2016, as part of a youth world basketball festival, it was announced on Saturday.

The decision was made by FIBA's Central Board as it fully endorsed the proposal put forward by the Spanish Basketball Federation (FEB) of staging a unique and innovative sporting event that combines all the elements most attractive to youth basketball players - competition, fun, shared experience, music and technology.

The young players, united by the excitement of basketball, will have the opportunity to be part of a diverse community, share experiences with boys and girls of the same age from different cultures and backgrounds and share personal hobbies and interests.

The advantages of staging the FIBA U17 World Championships according to this new model include:
- Bringing added value to the youth championships
- Generating a bigger impact and visibility of women's competitions
- Reducing the cost of operations by joining two championships in a single venue and increasing the quality of the services
- Having a stronger sporting appeal with the best men's and women's national teams featuring in a single championship
- Providing more content and experiences for the players (education, competition, fun and equality)
- Creating ties among all participants and building a diverse and committed community working for the future of basketball

The event will consist of the two FIBA U17 World Championships, but also of a Solidarity and Creative Talent Congress and a Basket & Music Festival.

The four candidate venues to host this youth world basketball festival are Costa del Sol, Galicia, Madrid and Zaragoza.

###

About FIBA

FIBA (fiba.com) - the world governing body for basketball - is an independent association formed by 215 National Basketball Federations throughout the world. It is recognised as the sole competent authority in basketball by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

For further information about FIBA visit fiba.com or follow FIBA on facebook.com/fiba, twitter.com/fiba,  instagram.com/fiba and youtube.com/fiba.