Doha: Croatian basketball legend Dino Raja is visiting Qatar to attend the second window of the Asian qualifiers for the 2027 FIBA Basketball World Cup, at the invitation of the local organizing committee and the Qatar Basketball Federation.
The 58-year-old former World Cup bronze medalist will be in Doha from February 26 to March 3 to attend Qatar’s two matches in the second window of the Asian qualifiers: against India on February 27 and against Saudi Arabia on March 2, both of which will be held at the Lusail Arena.
The visit also includes a press conference for media representatives, to be held at the Qatar Basketball Federation headquarters in Al Gharafa on March 1, 2026, at 10:30am Dino Raja, born in Split, Croatia, enjoyed a distinguished career spanning over two decades in Europe and the United States, during which he amassed numerous individual and team accolades. He won two Olympic silver medals: the first in 1988 in Seoul with the former Yugoslavia, and the second in 1992 in Barcelona when the Croatian national team faced the American Dream Team in a historic final.
Two years later, he led Croatia to a bronze medal at the 1994 FIBA Basketball World Cup in Canada, where he was selected as one of the tournament’s five best players alongside stars like Shaquille O’Neal, Sean Kimburigi-Miller, and Sergej Bazarević. He also won five EuroBasket medals, including two golds in 1989 and 1991. He was selected by the International Basketball Federation as one of the 50 greatest players in its history in 1991, before being chosen to enter the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2018.
