Parquet, baskets, screens: Swiss Basketball has taken over the Mobiliar Arena. The Bernese venue, which usually hosts handball, volleyball, futsal and unihockey, will be the scene on Thursday (7:30 p.m.) of the pre-qualifying meeting for the 2027 World Cup for the men’s selection against the Kosovo. So in recent days, the logistical challenge has been colossal for the federation.
“It’s a real challenge. We had to transport our parquet, which is stored near our premises and which we use every year for the SBL Cup in Montreux. But also add screens that correspond to basketball and not the traditional sports of this room, explains Mathieu Vallat, head of communications at the federation. It’s a rush. Tuesday, we finished at 2 a.m. But from an event point of view, it’s a much more stimulating project than Fribourg.”
You should know that for years, everything surrounding Swiss 5×5 basketball has happened in Saint-Léonard. It is even the first time since 2016 that a meeting has been organized in German-speaking Switzerland – and a Swiss Cup final in Zurich. “There was a desire to emigrate, within our means. We would also have liked to go to Basel or Zurich but several factors must be taken into account, such as room availability or the financial aspect. Outside of Fribourg, it’s hard.”
If St-Léonard can accommodate 3,000 people, this is not the case for the Mobiliar Arena. It has around 1500 seats and can accommodate up to 2000 people in a reduced configuration. “It’s a first here, we have to find a new audience,” continues Mathieu Vallat. But we are very satisfied. There are already more than 1,200 tickets sold. For the viewer – the match will be live on RTS 2 – the visual experience could be worth a look.
This match in Bern is part of a broader desire by the federation to develop basketball in German-speaking Switzerland in the future. “We cannot hope for basketball to be an important sport here if it remains a regional sport,” summarized the new elected president Andrea Siviero, when we met him in September. German Switzerland is where there is the majority of the population, the money, the fans, but also a real sports culture.
On this occasion, Jonathan Kazadi, the local child, will honor his latest selection under the eyes of his loved ones. At 33, the Friborg Olympic playmaker is considered the best Swiss player – Thabo Sefolosha and Clint Capela excluded – in a decade and the one who has had the most successful career abroad.
After a perfect first international window – two victories in as many matches – at the start of the year, the Swiss team is aiming to make it three on Thursday against Kosovo. The Greek team’s technician Ilias Papatheodorou is without Anthony Polite, injured for the season, Killian Martin (ankle) and Noah Burrell (knee). Three key players of the month of February. The coach must make choices to align twelve names among this group: Jonathan Kazadi, Selim Fofana, Yuri Solca, Jamal George, Roberto Kovac, Dylan Ducommun, Boris Mbala, Yoan Granvorka, Natan Jurkovitz, Lucas Maniema, Toni Rocak, Paul Gravet , Noé Anabir, Kevin Martina, Michel-Ofik Nzege, Laurent Zoccoletti.
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