Euro Basketball 2015: Clement draw for the Blues – The World

Le Monde | 08/12/2014 at 5:41 p.m. • Updated 12/08/2014 at 6:39 p.m. | By Adrien Pécout

For the first time in its history, the Euro basketball will take place in four countries during the same edition: France, therefore, but also Germany, Latvia and Croatia. Hence the choice of Disneyland to conduct the draw, “symbol of a single pan-European destination par excellence ‘, according to the president of the French Federation of Basketball (FFBB), Jean -Pierre Siutat.

Qualifying for the Olympics 2016, the 39th edition of the Euro was originally to take place only in Ukraine. But in mid-June 2014, the International Federation (FIBA) has decided otherwise because of the “security conditions less than favorable” and the political crisis in the state.

reallocated in September 2015 Euro basketball organize its four group stages, each in a different city: Montpellier, Berlin, Zagreb and Riga. Following the competition, to the final, then held at the stadium Pierre Mauroy in Lille (27 000 seats), football enclosure that already has used the setting for tricolor tennis players for the final of the Davis Cup.

THE 2016 Olympics LINE PATTERN

Before the draw, the team of France was already assured of being in the same group Finland. FIBA has indeed granted to the four host countries the privilege to select one of five opponents would be contained in their respective pools.

Why Finland? “We opted for a country where the Basketball is booming with supporters after mass as the World Cup this summer in Bilbao. They were 8000 “ says Jean-Pierre Siutat in the sports newspaper Team . French leader expects the presence of 3,000 Finnish fans for each of the matches scheduled in the Park & ​​amp;. Suites Arena in Montpellier (10,000 seats)

Expected by their audience, the Blues Tony Parker remain on a historic gold medal at the Euro 2013, and a bronze at the World Championships 2014. For them, the challenge of this Eurobasket 2015 are high: the two finalists of the competition will be automatically qualified for the Games 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The teams placed between the 3 ^th and 6 ^th for their site will access to a pre-Olympic tournament draft.