Norman Isaac became first Indian to be FIBA’s Technical Delegate

Norman Isaac in February 2017 became the first Indian to be promoted by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) as the Technical Delegate (TD).

His appointment/promotion was confirmed by the sport’s worldwide governing body. He was promoted to TD along with a select few aspirants, who successfully cleared a series of tests at Doha, Qatar.

Work assigned with promotion to Norman

FIBA in an official letter affirmed his new status and asked Norman to prepare the preliminary rounds of matches in the qualifiers, which will kick off in November 2017 towards the first ever FIBA World Cup in China in 2019.

As a Technical delegate, Norman will be assigned to any country and will be responsible for conducting an entire event which will range from actual competition management including media arrangements to logistics. However, any country will not include his country.

Previous tasks of Norman

In 2006, as a FIBA Commissioner, Norman was conferred with the title at Muscat, Oman. His earliest assignments included in 2009 for the FIBA Asia women’s championship at Chennai and the FIBA Asia girls’ under-16 years’ tournament in Pune. His last assignment as the FIBA Commissioner was in the FIBA Asia Challenge Cup for men in Iran in September 2016.

Norman and Basketball

• He played his first senior Nationals at Ludhiana, Punjab as a ball-handler in 1981

• He represented Andhra Pradesh till 1992.

• After his playing days, he joined the Basketball Federation of India’s (BFI)’s B panel in 1993

• Later in 1996, he graduated to the A level as the only one of 13 to pass the exams at Guwahati

• He became a FIBA Referee in 2001

• In 2002, he officiated in the FIBA Asia Champions Cup in Kuala Lumpur

• In 2004, he officiated in the FIBA Asia championship at Singapore

• In 2015, the BFI appointed him as its Chairman, Technical Commission

FIBA World Cup

FIBA’s mega quadrennial event has been planned in accordance to the FIFA World Cup. The organisers have planned the event in a way that it may not clash with world’s biggest sports events like Olympics.