British Basketball to honour Manchester
The Great Britain Women’s Basketball team will be back in Manchester on 9 November for a crucial clash with Sweden, and the team will take this timely opportunity to celebrate its special bond with the host city.
The GB Women’s team will take on Sweden in the first game of their EuroBasket 2025 qualification campaign at the National Basketball Performance Centre (Belle Vue Sports Village) and the kit for the game will carry a ‘Thank You’ message for Manchester.
The unique jersey design has been created through a collaboration between former GB Team captain, Chantelle Handy and Northern Quarter-based artist, Sasha Ray, who is artist in residence at the Holiday Inn Manchester City Centre, the team’s home from home when they are staying in the city.
The motif incorporates the famous Manchester Worker Bee, as well as the British Basketball Federation logo and Union Flag colours. The bee has been an emblem for Manchester for more than 150 years and denotes the city’s work ethic, as well as becoming a symbol of unity in recent years.
Following the game, which currently still has tickets available, with prices starting from just £8, a basketball summit will be staged at the Holiday Inn on 10 November, and this will be attended by Kamil Novak, Executive Director of FIBA Europe.
Representatives from Manchester City Council and the city’s Chamber of Commerce have also been invited to attend the summit, to acknowledge their superb support for the sport and the women’s team in particular, and to discuss future collaboration.
Chris Grant, Chair of the British Basketball Federation, explained what Manchester’s support means to the federation and the women’s team:
“This amazing artistic collaboration is the perfect way to honour the relationship between a sport and a city which are both known for their vibrancy, creativity and diversity. Manchester has been the home to many magical milestones in the history of British basketball. We’re delighted to be in discussions with the City Council; Chamber of Commerce and others about how we can take our relationship from strength to strength.”
The GB women’s team, who will once again be led by Head Coach Chema Buceta and team captain Temi Fagbenle, are ranked 10th in Europe and will be expecting a tough challenge from Sweden who are currently just five places behind them in the European rankings.
Buceta is currently finalising his squad but is relishing a home game to kick off the 2025 campaign. He said: “I am looking forward to the game against Sweden in Manchester. It’s great to start with a home game and I hope fans of British basketball will fill the stadium to give the senior women’s team the best possible support as we begin our qualification campaign for the FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2025 tournament.”
Temi Fagbenle, captain of the women’s team said: “I’m looking forward to the squad being back together in November, as we prepare for two important games in our qualification campaign. Our FIBA EuroBasket 2023 experience has made us even more determined to qualify for the 2025 event. Every game leading up to it is part of a series of tests for us, which begins next month against Sweden.”
Tickets for the game cost just £12 for adults and £8 for children and concession tickets are available for £10. A small booking fee will also be added to the price of each ticket. Tickets can be purchased here now.
Following the clash with Sweden in Manchester, the GB Women’s team will travel to Estonia and play their first away game for this qualification period on 12 November. Denmark is the fourth and final team in the GB Women’s qualification group, as per the draw that took place in Switzerland last month.
After next month’s games, the GB Women’s team will play twice in November 2024 and twice in February 2025, in a bid to qualify for the FIBA Women’s EuroBasket 2025 which will be held across Italy, the Czech Republic, Germany and Greece in the summer of 2025.
For more information about the game against Sweden, please visit the ticketing website now. Information about the GB squad for the November games is expected to be unveiled in the next few days.