The battle for basketball in Asia: upstart Macau tournament ruffles Fiba feathers
World governing body refuses to recognise The Super 8: Macau Basketball Invitational event featuring top teams from China, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines and Taiwan
Plans to stage an international exhibition basketball tournament in Macau next month featuring eight of the top club teams in Asia have fallen foul of the sport’s world governing body.
The Super 8: Macau Basketball Invitational is scheduled for September 20-24 at the 4,000-plus capacity Studio City, but organisers said the Geneva-based International Basketball Federation (Fiba) is refusing to give it official recognition in an attempt to put pressure on the teams to withdraw.
Fiba has yet to respond to requests for comment.
Matt Beyer, chief executive of The Super 8: Macau Basketball Invitational, said it has been in a legal dispute with Fiba for the past two weeks, resulting in them rebranding the event from its original name, the “Asia League”.
“They [Fiba] feel as if using the word ‘Asia’ comes under their jurisdiction, and they were uneasy about the possible creation of a ‘league’,” said Beyer, a China-based sports agent who worked as a translator for Yi Jianlian at the Milwaukee Bucks in the NBA 10 years ago.
