Malian Hamane Niang has accepted “with humility” his appointment as the President of basketball’s world governing body FIBA, in a statement on the website of the organisation on Friday.
The 67 year-old former President of FIBA-Africa was appointed head of the World Basketball Federation by delegates from the 156 national federations who took part in Thursday’s 21st FIBA Congress in China
“I would like to sincerely thank the national federations for the trust they have placed in me today. It is with humility that I accept this responsibility,” said Niang, a former Minister of Youth and Sports in Mali.
He takes over from Horacio Muratore of Argentina.
Elected for four years, Niang promised that he would devote himself completely to FIBA and “serve the interests of our beloved sport across the world.”
He added: “We are the governing body of basketball and we must continue to take a leadership role in the development of our sport”.
Niang said together the basketball fraternity can become the most popular sports community in the world.
ODL/cat/lb/as/APA