By Nikola Miloradovic / info@eurohoops.net
The fifth edition of the EHCB Coaches Congress was by far the largest to date, gathering coaches from more than 60 countries in Athens and at the OAKA Arena. The event marked a clear step forward, as organizers assessed what worked well and what could still be improved.
This was the second time the Congress was held in Greece, a country with a rich basketball tradition, as the EHCB continues to look toward the future.
“We feel proud as the Executive Board — Giannis and I,” said EHCB President Dimitris Itoudis. “When we took over, we said expansion had to be a priority. EHCB originally started with just head coaches, but now we’re opening the doors to other coaching staff members. We’re currently working on new bylaws that would allow a greater number of coaches to join — not only current EuroLeague or EuroCup head coaches, but also coaches like Andreas Pistiolis, who previously coached in the EuroLeague, or Darko Rajaković, now in the NBA, who is an honorary member and attending for the second time.”
This year’s event welcomed over 500 in-person participants and an additional 150 coaches following online via live HD stream.
“We’re proud to have the fifth generation of our EHCB Academy present here, with participants from 60 different countries,” Itoudis said. “We also appreciate the support of the Greek government, the Mayor of Athens, and other ministries. This has become an event. Families want to come to Athens — it’s a beautiful city, with great food, culture, and hospitality.”
He emphasized that the EHCB is open to feedback: “We want to hear opinions on how we can improve. There’s no ceiling for us — we want to invest. We’re investing in workshops, video materials, guest lecturers, sports doctors, motivational speakers… We’re thinking across different sectors in order to attract not only basketball coaches but people from other fields.”
EHCB Vice President Giannis Sfairopoulos added: “This was an excellent clinic. We’ve attended clinics all over Greece, Europe, and the United States — and this one stands out because of the quality of the speakers and the facilities. We’re proud to host more than 500 coaches in person, and nearly 700 total with the online attendees, coming from 60 countries. That’s not easy to achieve, and it shows we’re doing something right.”
He confirmed that the next EHCB Coaches Congress, in 2026, will also be held in Athens, hopefully again at the OAKA Arena: “We’re constantly gathering feedback from attendees and members. We did it last year as well. We’re always trying to improve.”
Dimitris Itoudis spoke passionately about the global reach of the event: “We have a coach in Bolivia who is teaching basketball to 500 children without parents. We are privileged to be in Europe and to work under such good conditions. But people in other parts of the world also love basketball, and we feel it’s our responsibility to give back — especially those of us who have had long, successful careers. One of our next goals could be to help families in need. We’re always looking for new ways to contribute.”
Itoudis also explained that the EHCB extended invitations to more coaches, but not everyone was able to attend: “Sergio Scariolo was unable to attend due to ongoing negotiations with Real Madrid. Tiago Splitter was also scheduled to appear but had to cancel in order to sign his NBA contract.”
The EHCB leadership also used the opportunity to speak with the media at a round-table session, exchanging ideas about how to improve the Congress and sharing their unified vision for European basketball.
“EHCB is fully committed to the EuroLeague Framework Agreement. After the players signed, it’s now our turn to follow through. We’re already working closely with the referees, and the goal is to create a core group — consisting of 4 coaches, 4 referees, and 4 players — that would meet once a month to exchange ideas. The purpose is simple: to make basketball better,” said Itoudis.
He also emphasized that one of EHCB’s proposals has already come to life in the EuroLeague: “We’ve already changed the way the EuroLeague thinks,” said Itoudis. “The Play-In tournament was an EHCB initiative. The more we communicate, the more positive changes we’ll see.”
The EHCB Congress continues to bring together key decision-makers from across the sport. This year’s event featured participation from EuroLeague President Dejan Bodiroga, managing director of the EuroLeague Players Association Boštjan Nachbar, the President of the Referees’ Union, Sreten Radovic, and the President of the Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association.
“Our vision is to unite all the different unions — coaches, referees, players, performance staff — so that we can have open discussions and work toward improving cooperation,” added Sfairopoulos. “The goal is for everyone to work together for the good of the sport.”