FIFA President Joseph S. Blatter met today with Fédération Internationale de Basketball (FIBA) Europe President Giorgos Vassilakopoulos and FIBA Europe Board member Asterios Zois in a consultative meeting to address the common challenges of the sporting landscape in Europe.

Leading the agenda of important topics discussed was the status of Article 182 of the draft of the European Union Constitution, which includes a provision for sports that is more in line with the principles of the Nice Declaration.

The two federations also worked on furthering the analysis of common problems faced by their respective organisations, as well as strategies and potential solutions to resolve the various issues.

To close the meeting, both parties pledged to work together through the IOC to defend the values and principles of the Sports Movement, as well as the rights of international sports federations on all issues affecting sport across Europe.

‘I am pleased with the productive nature of today’s meeting,’ said the FIFA President, ‘FIFA and FIBA Europe see eye to eye on these issues and I look forward to further consultations in the future.’

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