Federico Fucà joins Colombia’s coaching staff
An international adventure for Federico Fucà: the assistant coach of Pallacanestro Reggiana has officially joined the coaching staff of the Colombian national team ahead of the second phase of the Americas qualifiers for the 2027 FIBA World Cup. This marks a return to the national team scene for Fucà after four years with the Italian national team. Jaime Echenique will also represent Reggio Emilia, having been called up by Head Coach Tomas Diaz to lead the team under the basket.
At the start of this new chapter, Fucà expressed his satisfaction with the opportunity: “I’m very happy and excited about this opportunity. I want to thank Pallacanestro Reggiana, because opportunities like this are the result of the work I’ve been doing at the club for years. Working with the Colombian national team will enrich me both professionally and personally. I believe I can contribute to Coach Tomas Diaz’s staff in the tactical preparation—particularly on defense—for the games that await us in the qualifying campaign.”
Colombia faces a challenging path in Group E, where it will once again face Brazil and Chile—opponents from the first round—and take on new challengers Mexico, the Dominican Republic, and the United States. Only the top three teams from each group, plus the best fourth-place team overall, will advance to the World Cup.
The current standings keep Colombia firmly in contention: three wins, the same as Mexico, behind Brazil (six), the United States (five), and the Dominican Republic (four). Chile sits at the bottom of the standings with two wins. The current standings mean Diaz’s team must start climbing the table right away.
The campaign resumes Friday night at 4:10 a.m. in Zacatecas against Mexico, then continues on September 1 at 1 a.m. in Washington against the United States. Two home games are scheduled for the November window, against the Dominican Republic and the United States again, while in February, Colombia will wrap up the campaign with a home match against Mexico and an away game in the Dominican Republic.
