JORDAN OLYMPIC COMMITTEE WELCOMES IOC DECISION ON 3x3

 The International Olympic Committee’s decision to add 3x3 basketball to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games programme has been warmly welcomed by the Jordan Olympic Committee (JOC).

The announcement was part of a number of decisions that mark a key milestone in the evolution of the Olympic programme by introducing youth and urban innovations, significantly improving gender equality, and reducing the overall number of athletes.

The small sided version of basketball is growing in popularity worldwide, and the IOC has added both male and female competitions to its agenda for the first time, much to the satisfaction of the JOC which has stepped up its support of 3x3 in recent months.

“We welcome the decisions made by the Executive Board of the IOC which will see more events played in Tokyo 2020 with the highest representation of female athletes in Olympics history,” said Nasser Majali, Secretary General of the JOC.

“We are looking at the best ways of introducing new sports to Jordan, but the JOC is already working closely with the 3x3 basketball community to grow the sport here as we look towards trying to qualify for both the Youth Olympics next year in Buenos Aires and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.”

The JOC recently sent a youthful men’s 3x3 team to gain experience at the Islamic Solidarity Games held in Baku, while a young female side competed in the Asian Championships last month.

The JOC is also supporting a Ramadan 3x3 tournament that gets underway at Trax on Sunday, June 11.

The IOC decision will lead to a net increase of 15 events in Tokyo but an overall reduction of 285 athletes from Rio 2016.

In Tokyo, the number of mixed events will double from nine in Rio 2016 to 18.