Ireland basketball teams discontinued

There will be no senior men's or women's basketball teams to represent Ireland in the immediate future, it was announced today.

The decision has been attributed to the financial crisis within governing body Basketball Ireland, which is €1.2m in debt.

Paul Meany, executive chairman of Basketball Ireland, said: “This is a financial rather than a philosophical decision.

“We have had to cut back on every possible way or we face the scenario of Basketball Ireland collapsing.

“This time last year we had 27 staff. Now we have 11. I am here in a voluntary capacity. FIBA have been very understanding about this and have given us a measure of support.

“We have always had a hand-to-mouth existence here, but a combination of bad financial information and maybe trying to develop the sport more quickly than was feasible has left us with no choice but to make these decisions.”

The news comes at a particularly unfortunate time for the women’s team, who came very close to promotion to the A division of European basketball last year.

The team had previously lobbied to be allowed to continue with separate funding.