Agreement between basketball World Cup organisers and the first Olympic museum in the region aims to preserve, promote and further the game’s regional legacy.

An exhibition showcasing Qatar and the region’s basketball history and legacy will be set up during the FIBA World Cup 2027, as part of an agreement signed between the tournament’s local organising committee and the 3-2-1 Qatar Olympic and Sports Museum on Monday.

The committee’s Director General, Mohammed Saad Al-Meghaiseeb, penned the agreement with Qatar Museums CEO Mohammed Saad Al-Rumaihi, aiming to enrich the cultural legacy of the competition slated to take place from August 27 to September 12, 2027.

“It will be a mix of sport and culture,” Al-Meghaiseeb said in a press conference organised before the signing, adding that the “cultural agreement” will showcase and promote both basketball and Qatar.

Details released so far about the tournament, set to become the first FIBA World Cup to be held in the region, have put clear focus on local culture, national identity and legacy.

Last week, the organising committee announced the conversion of Al Janoub, one of the eight host stadiums of the FIFA World Cup 2022, into a basketball arena for the 2027 competition. The decision was a part of “Qatar’s dedication to sustainability and continuing its legacy,” according to a statement.

Similarly, the competition’s logo, unveiled in January, shows the Bisht — a cloak reserved for special royal occasions across the Arab world — wrapping around basketball’s ultimate prize, the Naismith Trophy.

The broader aim of the agreement, hence, is to tap into other cultural factors that sports tend to overarch, according to Al-Rumaihi.

“We believe that sport and culture are powerful tools for encouraging community engagement and strengthening national identity,” he said ahead of the signing.

“Through them, creativity flourishes, social cohesion is reinforced, and innovation grows, all of which are fundamental pillars for building a diverse, knowledge-based society.”

In a similar move, the FIFA World Cup 2022’s local organising committee, the Supreme Committee for Delivery and Legacy, had also penned an agreement with Qatar Museums ahead of football’s biggest event.

An expansive exhibition detailing football’s global appeal and Qatar’s journey to hosting the World Cup was held at the museum perched on Khalifa International Stadium, one of the eight venues used in the competition.

This time around, basketball will take centre stage, with various initiatives aimed at enhancing fan experiences and understanding set to be held in addition to the main exhibition.

“Any museum is a melting pot for different aspects of any legacy and culture,” Fahad Ibrahim Juma Al-Muhana, the organising committee’s Executive Director of Strategy and Planning, told Doha News.

The aim is to leave a cultural imprint that lasts even after the tournament by establishing a permanent relationship between basketball’s governing body, FIBA, and the museum, according to Al-Muhana. The prime focus is still on outreach and promoting the sport in the region, he added.

“It was very important for us to sign such an agreement as early as possible […] so that we can both work together in reaching out to as many people and visitors as possible, be it school kids, universities, or the tourists coming to Qatar,” Al-Muhana said.

“We want to give them a glimpse of how things will look in the future, but also how things happened in the past.”