The year of 2022 will be proposed to be declared the Year of Basketball. Next year Lithuanian basketball will celebrated its centenary, because on April 23, 1922, the first match between the LFLS (Lithuanian Physical Education Union) team and the team of the provisional capital took place in Kaunas, and the LFLS won with the result 8:6. In the same year, Lithuanian women’s basketball championship was organised.
“Such idea arose during the meeting with Leonas Karaliūnas, the founder of the first Lithuanian basketball museum. I am glad that our idea was heard”, – said one of the authors of the idea, Algirdas Vaicekauskas.
This project was prepared and registered by five members of the Seimas. The authors emphasize that basketball in Soviet-occupied Lithuania was more than just a sports competitions, it also fostered a spirit of national resistance.
„We are glad that such an idea was born. This would be a really beautiful and exclusive way to commemorate the centenary of Lithuanian basketball. For its part, the Lithuanian Basketball Federation does its homework: a documentary and a book about the century of basketball are being prepared, and we also plan to honour and commemorate the 100 most outstanding basketball people near the „House of Basketball” in Kaunas. Attention and respect for our basketball is also shown by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), which entrusted Lithuania with organizing the FIBA Europe General Assembly”, – said LKF Secretary General Mindaugas Špokas.
At the FIBA Europe General Assembly held last year, the candidacy of the Lithuanian Basketball Federation to host the 2022 FIBA Europe General Assembly in Lithuania was presented and approved.
The most important European basketball leaders and basketball stars will gather in Lithuania and address important basketball issues during a significant anniversary for Lithuanian basketball – the 100th anniversary. The FIBA Europe General Assembly is attended by representatives of basketball federations from 50 countries.
