KYLE HOSFORD is retiring from international basketball effective immediately. John Carroll was named Ireland’s new senior men’s captain, describing it as “the proudest achievement of my basketball career to date”.
During his seven-year international career, Hosford won the FIBA Europe Small Nations Championship in 2021, a tournament of which he was vice-captain. He succeeded Jason Killeen as captain in November 2021 when Ireland kicked off their FIBA EuroBasket 2025 pre-qualifying campaign and have played in all four games so far in the tournament.
Speaking about his decision to retire from international basketball, Hosford said, “I have decided to retire from international basketball. I have enjoyed every moment of my time with Irish teams over the years. I’ve really enjoyed every experience, from playing and most recently captaining the Irish team.
“The team has been the strongest for a very, very long time, so I’m excited to see what the guys can do in the future.
“I want to thank all the coaches, staff and players for the opportunity and the experience. I wish the team the best of luck for their next two games. I will now become the biggest fan and I can’t wait to cheer on the guys on Thursday and in the arena on Sunday.
New Ireland captain John Carroll added: “I am very honored to be named captain. I learned a lot from Kyle and Jason Killeen before him on the leadership side and hopefully I can fill their shoes as captain in the future. It’s probably the proudest achievement of my basketball career to date.
been a pleasure! Can’t wait to see what this team will achieve 🇮🇪🏀 https://t.co/ueJIJ70nyL
— Kyle Hosford (@K_hosford) June 27, 2022
Ireland Senior Men’s Head Coach Mark Keenan said: “Kyle has been a great servant to Irish basketball and has been a great leader and captain for this team during this qualifying campaign. He had a great international career and we wish him a good international retirement.
“John Carroll is now moving from vice-captain to team captain. John has also led by example in this campaign to date and we wish him well as he takes over from Kyle.
Sean Flood has been named Ireland’s new vice-captain. The final 12-man squad for this week’s FIBA EuroBasket 2025 pre-qualifiers will be known on Tuesday. Ireland’s first game is against Austria in Salzburg on Thursday, followed three days later by their home game against Switzerland on July 3rd. Ireland remain firmly in contention in Group A, they are third, just one point behind Switzerland and Austria, co-leaders. The group winners and the two best runners-up from three groups will advance to the second round of pre-qualifying, which begins in August, with another two-match window in November.
Ireland’s next two FIBA EuroBasket 2025 pre-qualifier matches will be shown live on TG4, Austria v Ireland on June 30 at 7:20 p.m., with live coverage on TG4 starting at 7:05 p.m. . Three days later, Ireland host Switzerland at the National Basketball Arena, live coverage begins at 5:00 p.m. and the match begins at 5:15 p.m. TG4’s Cispheil Beo will be featured by Galway sports broadcaster Máire Treasa Ní Cheallaigh, who will be joined by a team of expert basketball analysts. The series is produced by Fogarty Fenwick Services.
Buy tickets for Ireland vs Switzerland here.
