By Antigoni Zachari / info@eurohoops.net
After EuroLeague clubs made an announcement against FIBA’s proposal for the World Cup Qualifiers ‘windows’ issue and FIBA’s reaction to it, the European Basketball players Union (with Spain, Italy, France, Israel, and Switzerland being its current members) has also released the following statement.
For the first time, the players take an active stance in this debate, represented by their unions and this means that their voice can be heard.
“Representatives from the Union Basketteurs Europeéns (UBE) attended a meeting called by FIBA on October 5 to discuss issues arising from FIBA’s calendar proposal for the 2017-18 season. In attendance were UBE President, Alessandro Marzoli, from GIBA representing the Italian players and UBE Vice President, Alfonso Reyes, from ABP representing the Spanish players along with player and federation representatives from Greece, Russia, Germany, and Turkey.
UBE is grateful to FIBA for accepting the participation of player unions at the meeting. Wearing their country’s jersey is a dream for every player but they also have obligations to their clubs as employees that must be respected. The FIBA international windows put players in a very difficult position. UBE cannot accept that players must shoulder the burden of the dispute between FIBA and ECA, potentially putting their well-being and careers in jeopardy.
The player representatives expressed their disappointment that they were not involved in the calendar decision process by either FIBA or Euroleague Commercial Assets (ECA). UBE appreciates that FIBA indicated during the meeting that they will, in the future, include player unions at an early stage when proposing changes that affect players and is looking forward to engaging with all stakeholders in a positive and proactive manner on the joint issues that are important to players.”
A similar announcement was made by the German national team players. While they are happy that FIBA has contacted them, it should had happened earlier. “Playing for the German national team is considered an honor and a strong German national team is important for the success, for the growth of the entire German and European Basketball”, however the players stress also that “there are contracts with the clubs that we have to fulfill. The conflict between FIBA and Euroleague forces the players to decide between contract responsibility with their clubs and loyalty to the national team”.
Der @DBB_Basketball -Nationalmannschaftsbeirat zum Thema @FIBA vs @EuroLeague: pic.twitter.com/inUyZtVvPZ
— Johannes Herber (@jhherber) October 6, 2017