BFI announces Indian National Basketball League to take game to higher level

Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], November 19 : The Basketball Federation of India on Thursday announced the Indian National Basketball League, a megaproject aiming to take the sport of basketball to a higher level in all aspects of the sport.
"The INBL is not just a league of games. It is true that millions of basketball fans have dreamt of a National League in India for a long time. And we deliver that for sure for both men and women," said Dr K Govindaraj, president of the BFI, in a statement.
"But our aim is not only having a high-quality basketball league but taking every other aspect of the sport including laying a strong and sustainable process for development at the grassroots level," he said.
Govindaraj also said that to execute the plan as per BFI's vision, Headstart Arena India has been appointed.
"The team that will execute this plan consists of committed professionals with very long and rich international experience in organisations like the NBL of Australia and FIBA," he said.
"In short, the ultimate aim of the BFI is for the Indian National Teams to be ready to play at the 2024 Olympic and the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup and the 2030 FIBA Women's Basketball Cup. And I do believe we are on the right track. The INBL will involve a three-prong approach," he added.
According to Govindaraj, First, and right on top, will be the high-quality league in the regular format, which will supplement strengthening the national team. And then there will be the pan-India city-based FIBA 3x3 competitions in at least 30 cities along with a 10-city FIBA 3x3 weekend mega festivals, which will increase participation and bring in new talent.
Chander Mukhi Sharma, Secretary-General of the BFI said: "To put it straight and simple, the success of the National Teams is the ultimate index of the success of a sport in the country. A strong competition structure like a high-quality league is certainly an integral part of this process. But it doesn't remain confined to that."
"The INBL as a concept aims to give a competitive game to thousands of players every second weekend. Be it the 3x3 format, where we do believe we have a very strong opportunity to qualify for the Olympics in 2024 or the regular format whereas things stand we should aim to qualify for 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup and 2030 FIBA Women's Basketball Cup and that is exactly what we are aiming to achieve with the INBL," he added.
The National Basketball League will feature 24 teams each in two categories - men and women.
The Governor of Karnataka and the Chief Minister of Karnataka along with the Minister of Youth Empowerment and Sport, Government of Karnataka and other dignitaries will be present at the launch ceremony.