The Men's Basketball World Cup will be played in Qatar in 2027 and all games will be played in Doha, the International Basketball Federation (Fiba) has announced. According to Fiba, no other countries had applied for the championship.
"On behalf of the board, I would like to congratulate Qatar for the work they have already done in putting together this bid," said FIFA President Hamane Niang.
But the Swedish Basketball Association is now sharply criticizing Qatar being awarded the championship.
"We are far from on the same foot as Fiba on this issue and feel that it is regrettable, the decision taken today," said Secretary General Fredrik Joulamo.
How much opportunity does the Swedish federation have to influence this decision?
– We have an ongoing cooperation with countries that are close to us in various ways, including on the issue of Russia and Belarus' participation in various basketball contexts in Europe. In that grouping, we have jointly written a number of letters protesting against decisions taken by Fiba Europa on the two countries in particular. Surely it is much in the same way that we see that we should act now.
Qatar qualifies automatically
You will try to protest?
"It's early to say because the announcement came early in the morning, but I envision that one of the ways we can go is to clearly express that we think the decision to award Qatar the World Cup in 2027 is wrong.
What impact can your voices have?
"I wouldn't have too high hopes that it will have any effect at all.
Qatar, 89th in the world rankings, will automatically qualify for the championship. The last time Qatar played the basketball World Cup was in 2006, when they lost all five games.
Spain are the reigning world champions after defeating Argentina in China in 2019.
Joulamo's quote "zero points" refers to Zlatan's tribute to Qatar during a national team gathering earlier this year.