Basketball Ireland welcomes Government funding towards High Performance

Basketball Ireland welcomes Wednesday’s announcement from Government and Sport Ireland that it is to receive €200,000 towards its international 3x3 programme.

The funding is part of Sport Ireland’s newly established Performance Development Programme.

The introduction of 3x3 to the Olympic Games in 2020 has presented Basketball Ireland with a route to participation in the Olympics. Since then it has put renewed focus on the discipline.

This summer Ireland’s women’s 3x3 team will compete in the FIBA Women’s 3x3 World Series for the second year, while Ireland’s men’s 3x3 team reached the final of the FIBA 3x3 Europe Cup qualifiers in 2023 and the semi-finals in 2024.

Basketball Ireland CEO, John Feehan, said: “I’d like to thank the Minister for Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport, Patrick O’Donovan, and the Minister of State for Sport and Postal Policy, Charlie McConalogue, the Government and Sport Ireland for recognising the work being put into our 3x3 programme. This financial backing will make a significant difference, enabling our Irish squads to compete at the top level.”

Matthew Hall, Basketball Ireland Senior Technical Officer, added: “The improvement in Ireland’s FIBA 3x3 ranking has resulted in our U18 women’s team reaching this July’s European Youth Olympic Festival. It’s a busy summer ahead, our U23 and senior men’s and women’s teams will be in FIBA U23 3x3 Nations League and FIBA 3x3 Europe Cup qualifying action, while our senior women will be coming up against the world’s best in the FIBA 3x3 Women’s World Series. This investment by Sport Ireland will allow us to continue the progress we’ve been making over the last number of years.”.