On Monday 19 June 2023 during the IWBF World Congress, which had been postponed to be held alongside the 2022 World Championships, a new IWBF Executive Council was elected for the 2023-2026 term.
The Congress, which was taking place in Dubai, UAE, saw Germany’s Ulf Mehrens elected by acclamation as President of the International Wheelchair Basketball Federation for a third term.
Also re-elected to the Executive Council by acclamation were Craig Moorgas of South Africa as Treasurer, Charlie Bethel of Great Britain as Chair of Competition, Regina Costa of Portugal as Chair of Classification, and Cristian Roja of Italy as Chair of Technical.
Walter Pfaller of Austria was elected with the majority as Vice-President, and Gabriel Zangenfeind of Switzerland was voted in as Chair of the Commission for Legal Matters and Eligibility (CLME) stepping up from being a member of the commission.
Following several rounds of voting, Matthew Wells of Australia and Toufic Allouche of Lebanon were both re-elected to the Member at Large roles.
Furthermore, following the approval by the members of amendments to the Statutes, the new Executive Council also welcomed two additional voting members - the inclusion of FIBA Secretary General, Andreas Zagklis onto the board, and the Chair of the newly established IWBF Players’ Commission, Erica Gavel.
These Executive Council members will be joined by the Presidents of IWBF’s four Zones: Steve Bach (IWBF Americas), Saad Alazmaa (IWBF Asia Oceania), Charles Saunders (IWBF Africa), and newly elected Vice-President Walter Pfaller (IWBF Europe).
IWBF President, Ulf Mehrens, said:
“I am honoured to be re-elected for my third term as President of IWBF. I’m confident IWBF is well positioned for the future in terms of content and ambitions. The formation of the new IWBF Executive Council especially with the valuable additions of the FIBA Secretary General and the Chair or the Players' Commission Chair will continue to drive the sport forward.
“I would like also like to express my thanks to both Steve Bach and Francisca Ravestein, who both step down from their positions, for their time and efforts spent on the board."
The Congress took place after two mornings of the IWBF Forum where a number of topics were presented and discussed including the IWBF Global Strategy, 3x3, establishing a Players’ voice throughout the governance of the sport, and Classification.
The newly formed Executive Council met for the first time following the Congress on Monday 19 June, and during the meeting, the Council agreed to reappoint Norbert Kucera as IWBF Secretary General.
IWBF Executive Council 2023 – 2026
[Converted Table to List]
Zonal Presidents*
[Converted Table to List]
*The Zonal Presidents will be up for election at the Zonal Congresses at the respective Zonal Championships in 2023/2024
Photo Credit: Steffie Wunderl/SA Images
