Sopron is hosting a women’s basketball qualifying tournament for the Paris Olympics, in which the Hungarian national team will also be interested.
On Saturday, FIBA announced the four hosts of the qualifying tournaments, one of which will be the home of the Hungarian champion and winner of the Sopron Basket Cup between February 8 and 11, 2024.
Marton Bader, president of the federation (MKOSZ), told MTI that all tools of sports diplomacy were being used in order to bring the Hungarian women’s team back to the pentathlon games again after 44 years.
“Although the economic situation is not ideal, this ranking was an important goal, and I am happy that FIBA, with whom we have a very good relationship, decided this way. When I went to the FIBA congress in Manila before the World Cup For men, we have already submitted the Hungarian application, and you can still click immediately.” Explained in first person by MKOSZ.
The team of national team captain Norbert Szekely can participate in the qualifiers by finishing fourth in the European Championship in Ljubljana next June. Zoltán Török, Managing Director of Sopron Basket, confirmed on his social media page that there was great cooperation in the background.
“The MKOSZ General Staff did a great job, the State Sports Secretariat stood ready even in a difficult situation, but what about us? We did it our way. In February, Sopron will wear red, white and green. And we will do it!” he added.
In addition to Sopron, Antwerp, Rio de Janeiro and Xi’an in China will host the qualifying tournament, and ten of the 16 teams will qualify for the Olympics. In the City of Loyalty, there are four national teams, including the Hungarian national team, and three of them have earned a share of five rings.
So far, only host nation France and the Americans, last year’s world champions, have qualified for the Paris Olympics. In the 16-team qualifiers, 14 teams have been known so far: the United States (world champion), Belgium, Spain, France, Hungary, Serbia and Germany (the best in the European Championship), China, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. (Best in the Asian Championship), Brazil (Best in the Americas), Nigeria and Senegal (Best in the African Cup). They will be joined by two teams from the US qualifiers scheduled for November.
The Hungarian women’s national team has participated in the Olympic Games once so far, in 1980, finishing fourth in Moscow.
