Latvian Basketball Team Falls Short in World Cup Quarterfinals, Olympic Dreams Dashed

The Latvian basketball team lost to Germany 79:81 in the World Cup quarterfinals on Wednesday, failing to continue the fight for a ticket to the Paris Olympic Games in the final tournament. At the World Championship in Asia, seven participants of the Paris Olympic Games have become known, who have joined the host France, while four more national teams will be determined next summer in four qualifying tournaments with 24 national teams participating.

“With our own strength, we cannot lift it. The license alone costs 2.2-2.5 million Swiss francs [2,3-2,6 miljonus eiro]. Let’s talk with the ministries, the Ministry of Education and Science,” Tsipruss assessed the possibilities of hosting one of the tournaments.

You must apply for the qualification tournament within the next month. As Tsipruss emphasized, the advantage of Latvia is that LBS has prepared an application for the European Championship with a tournament of one group – six teams.

“The license fees are different, but the expenses are more or less the same, providing everything the teams need. We will try to submit quickly, hoping for positive support,” Tsiprus said.

The general secretary of LBS also denied that the Latvian national team could receive a bonus from the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) for entering the top eight of the World Cup.

Representatives of the Ministry of Finance (FM) explained to the LETA agency that, considering that it is a tournament scheduled for 2024, this issue, as well as the necessary funding, should be considered in the next year’s state budget development process. Possible funding for such a tournament will not be tied to contingency funds.