By Alex Molina / info@eurohoops.net
The Education, Vocational Training, and Sport Committee of the Spanish Congress of Deputies addressed the future of European basketball this Tuesday in a session featuring the Euroleague Basketball. Parliamentary groups expressed widespread concern about the risks that the potential implementation of initiatives like the future NBA Europe could pose to the values of the European model.
Euroleague’s Director of Marketing and Communications, Alex Ferrer, maintained that the debate on the future of European basketball “is not ideological, but institutional,” and argued that it should focus on ensuring that the sport’s growth remains aligned with the pillars of the European model: governance based in Europe, reinvestment of value in the local ecosystem, protection of sporting merit, compatibility with national leagues, and respect for the Union’s legal and social framework.
The interventions of the spokespeople reflected a significant consensus on the need to preserve sport as a public good and avoid dynamics that could fragment the ecosystem, shift decision-making centers away from Europe, or extract value generated on the continent. From the Socialist Parliamentary Group, Deputy Marqués conveyed his concern about the NBA project and emphasized that “the social model of sport is sacred,” highlighting the importance of protecting players’ rights and safeguarding the geostrategic value of European sport. Viviane Ogou, from the Sumar party, insisted that basketball is a unifying element for neighborhoods and communities and warned of the risk of turning it into a mere market commodity, especially if extraterritorial initiatives are promoted that weaken its social roots. The spokesperson for the Popular Group, Merino, defended the strengthening of Spanish sport through public funding and stressed that any international project must be integrated into the existing ecosystem. Cervera (Junts) focused on the central role of clubs and their local roots as distinguishing elements of the European model, while Ramírez (Vox) expressed his agreement with the position put forward by the Euroleague.
Ferrer warned of the need to align the different stakeholders in basketball: “This isn’t about opposing anyone. It’s about ensuring that the future of European basketball remains aligned with the values that have made the sport strong on our continent, and about protecting its social and community dimension.” He argued that European basketball is experiencing a period of measurable growth in terms of audiences, attendance, and revenue. The EuroLeague was presented as a consolidated European model, with clear rules, a predictable calendar, and legal certainty, compatible with national leagues and teams. It emphasized its territorial roots as a network of historic clubs linked to cities and fans, as well as its connection between elite and grassroots sport.
He also highlighted the recurring economic impact on European cities, sports tourism, employment, and activity associated with events, and noted that the EU legal framework helps ensure that the value generated largely benefits Europe. In this regard, he alluded to the European Parliament resolution reaffirming the European sports model and the need to fully comply with EU law, including the framework aimed at [unclear – possibly “the European Union’s legal framework”]. to avoid the erosion of tax bases and the diversion of value flows to third countries.
The Euroleague stressed that it is not opposed to investment or innovation and that it remains open to cooperation with new international initiatives. However, it insisted that growth cannot imply decoupling or fragmentation. In this regard, it argued that any evolution of European basketball must guarantee European governance, respect for the Union’s legal framework, compatibility with national competitions, protection of sporting merit, and verifiable reinvestment in the local ecosystem and in talent development. “European basketball was not born in financial statements, but in neighborhoods and municipal sports halls,” concluded Ferrer, who maintained that protecting the European model “is not about protecting an organization, but a way of understanding sport as identity, cohesion, and community.”