Spain already has rivals for one of the most important events of the season. On July 31, the Spanish Basketball Federation celebrates its 100th anniversary, a whole century of one of the leading sports in the country. And a few days before, from the 15th to the 23rd of the same month, the Under 19 World Cup will take place, which will host the city of Madrid in three venues (the capital, Alcalá de Henares and Torrejón de Ardoz). A highly anticipated tournament that had the draw for the group stage this Monday, March 27, at the Real Casa de Postas. The Selection, which has appeared first in the draw, it is framed in group A along with France, Australia and Argentina in what promises to be a championship full of emotions.
The event, which was co-hosted by former player Marta Fernández, included the collaboration of different personalities: the Head of the FIBA Team and Venue Center, Bart Prinssen; the Sports Councilor of the Community of Madrid, Marta Rivera de la Cruz; the Deputy Mayor of Alcalá de Henares, Alberto Blázquez; the Councilor for Sports and Mobility of Torrejón de Ardoz, José Miguel Martín Criado; and the General Director of Sports of the Madrid City Council, Alicia Martín. The president of the FEB, Jorge Garbajosa, has also been present, of course, who has stressed the importance of the tournament: “It is a World Cup that comes in the most important year in our history and our future. It is the main event of the FEB Centenary year, and it is because it combines two strategic pillars: women’s sport and training”.
The innocent hands that have made the draw have been the former players Amaya Valdemoro and Sonja Vasic, who have also recounted their experiences in categories and have shown their enthusiasm for the tournament. During the event, which lasted approximately one hour, FIBA took the opportunity to announce that it will debut the innovative crystal trackHim: “This state-of-the-art surface will provide a fantastic opportunity for some of the best young players and teams in the world to become the first to play on it at a flagship FIBA event.”, declared Bart Prinssen.
The tournament will begin on July 15 and the group stage will have two initial venues: Alcalá de Henares (groups A and B) and Torrejón de Ardoz (groups C and D). After that, The tournament will move to the WiZink Center, where the women’s sports festival (its claim is very present during the event) will play the playoffs for the title.
This is how the groups have been after the draw:
Group A: Spain, France, Australia and Argentina.
B Group: United States, Germany, China-Taipei and Mali.
Group C: Lithuania, Italy, Japan and Brazil.
Group D: Canada, Czech Republic, China and Egypt.
