Germany coach Olaf Lange criticizes tight Women’s Basketball World Cup schedule

Olaf Lange says the Women’s Basketball World Cup schedule in Berlin is too compressed for his liking. Germany’s coach warned that the strain could put players’ health at risk if injuries follow.

The tournament’s 36 games are being played over 10 days. The German team faces three group-stage games in four days. Its first two matches, a defeat by Spain on Friday and a victory over Japan on Saturday, came just 24 hours apart.

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If, which we hope will not happen, injuries result from the overload, then health is ultimately at risk.

Spain faced an even shorter turnaround. The team played Mali only 16 hours after its match against Germany ended.

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That is not in the interest of the sport and not in the interest of the World Cup.

Lange, who also works as an assistant coach for Toronto Tempo in the WNBA, said the schedule did not serve either the sport or the tournament. “The Fiba should find a solution,” he said. “We don’t do this in the WNBA, and we already do quite a lot there.”

The WNBA suspended its season for the World Cup, but only briefly. Germany will play Mali in its final preliminary-round game at 5:50 p.m. If the team wins Group A, it will advance directly to the quarterfinals and receive two days off. A second- or third-place finish would send Germany into a playoff round on Tuesday, creating a four-games-in-five-days stretch.

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Fiba should find a solution.

“That’s pretty tough. But I don’t want to complain now, because it’s the same for everyone,” Lange said.

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That’s pretty tough. But I don’t want to complain now, because it’s the same for everyone.