Revamped Home Nations Invitational ready for ‘best youth talent’
The Home Nations of England, Scotland and Wales will come together to contest three tournaments this summer.
The British Basketball Federation (BBF) last year announced changes to the annual competitions held between the Home Country Associations to help boost Great Britain’s chances of success at the FIBA European Youth Championships.
From this year, the three Home Nations Tournaments will all take place in the summer months in the realigned age categories of Under-14, Under-15 and Under-17.
The aim is to identify players earlier and give coaches the opportunity to work with them over a longer period before feeding them through to GB level, while removing calendar clashes with the domestic seasons in each country.
The dates and venues for the 2025 tournaments are:
- U14 Home Nations Tournament: 13th June – 15th June, PlaySport, East Kilbride, Scotland
- U15 Home Nations Tournament: 30th May – 1st June, National Basketball Performance Centre, Manchester, England
- U17 Home Nations Tournament: 27th – 29th June, Archers Arena, Cardiff, Wales
Fiona Pimblett, BBF Performance Lead, said:
“I’m really happy to be collaborating once again with Basketball England, basketballscotland and Basketball Wales. The repositioned tournament schedule will provide a brilliant opportunity to see some of the best youth talent we have in Britain and give GB coaches a fantastic opportunity to see players a year before they reach the top of their age group for GB teams.”
Steve Bucknall, Head of Talent and Performance at Basketball England, said:
“I’m really looking forward to a great summer of youth basketball and fully support the strategic adjustments to the Home Nations events, designed to enhance our GB junior teams’ preparation and performance.‘
“Shifting all the competitions to summer and reconfiguring the age groups allows us crucial extra time to develop and fine tune our athletes’ skills. This alignment with the FIBA European Youth Championship cycles is a game-changer.”
Barry Lang, Head of Performance at basketballscotland, said:
“We welcome these age changes to support the GB and Home Nations Youth Pathway. Having the tournaments in the summer will enable more preparation and hopefully entice some of our European neighbours to participate. We look forward to hosting the U14 event in Scotland.”
Phil Gordos, Performance Director at Basketball Wales, said:
“We’re looking forward to working with the BBF and our partners in England and Scotland to create a GB and Home Nations Youth Pathway that everyone buys into. Giving the GB teams the best chance of performing well at the FIBA European Youth Championships has to be a priority.”
Tickets for the U17 Home Nations Tournament in Cardiff will go on sale next week – don’t miss your chance to come and support the future stars of GB basketball and be part of the action.
