By Cesare Milanti / info@eurohoops.net
LAUSANNE (Switzerland) – The success of the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup has naturally brought the main basketball minds worldwide to bring their support to Lausanne. Among them, Andreas Zagklis enjoyed the final matchup of the competition between Team USA and Germany.
Before the game’s tip-off on Sunday, FIBA’s Secretary General had a joint interview with Eurohoops and other media to cover several topics.
In the first part of the interview, topics such as the current conversations between NBA, FIBA, and EuroLeague regarding NBA Europe, the EuroLeague’s expansion, and the game-packed calendar were discussed.
At what stage is the conversation process regarding NBA Europe at the moment?
“FIBA’s role is to try to bring the stakeholders together. We had a good meeting in that direction on the 29th of of May at the FIBA headquarters, where representatives of the NBA, both European office and head office in New York came, the leadership of of ECA, EuroLeague Commercial Assets, President and CEO as well as representative of 12 clubs, plus of course our club from Moscow online. All of them participated. That was one more step in the direction of trying to find synergies together. We have a clear commitment from the FIBA Central Board and the FIBA Europe Board as well for FIBA to continue to play the role of enhancing our European club competitions and bringing solutions, both in terms of the structure as well as the commercial side, and the side of the calendar, which is very relevant. We are representing both the interests of our national federations that care about their clubs, about their national teams, but we also represent at this table the interests of the national leagues. And we continue to believe that the growth of the national leagues is fundamental. No top European league can do the job alone. Whether this is called EuroLeague or it’s called something else, and it’s owned by and operated by someone else, the national leagues and the regular play of national teams are fundamental elements of any solution that at least involves FIBA in the future.”
Could you clarify what the latest ideas regarding the potential format and the number of teams that could play in the NBA Europe are?
“I don’t think this is for us to be confusing the fans with the ideas that are being developed right now. I think when there are concrete ideas and concrete solutions, we should be able to come out and say, “This is where we’re going”. We made an announcement saying that we’re working. And yes, I can confirm that we continue working. FIBA plays its role not only as a partner of the NBA and accompanying the process that they have put in place, but also its role as the world governing body that cares for all its clubs, including the 13 owners of the EuroLeague, the other none owners that play in the EuroLeague, the teams in the BCL, and the rest of the ecosystem. It is certainly a delicate balancing exercise of the various interests, but that is also our role in this. I can really confirm that yes, work is continuing, and it’s continuing in a good direction. So I’m optimistic about the future.”
How would you describe the FIBA-EuroLeague relationship now after having some ups and downs over recent years?
“I must say that in the last years we didn’t have ups and downs. We had only an improvement in the principle of the relationship. Of course, none of us is fully happy with the other. It’s clear. But I think we have made clear steps in the direction of trying to meet each other. So I continue to be optimistic. Of course, we need to find a good balance of interests. And in this phase that we are in, we need to be careful with every step we take. And that’s why FIBA has been very careful in discussing with everyone. The communication channel with ECA is open. I do believe that it is our job to keep this communication channel open and, when problems arise, to try to find a solution. I would not pretend that things are perfect. They are not. But I will also not pretend that we’re not working and that we’re not communicating. Perhaps sometimes we give small solutions to small issues that, for the fans, for the players, for the coaches, may not be big enough. But I do see that we can continue making progress. It is an exercise of building confidence in each other. At least, I believe the clubs are very confident about the fact that FIBA is here for everyone, not to harm them. Quite the opposite, to find good ways for them to develop all the clubs, including our top clubs. This was a clear message we wanted them to get when they came to the headquarters. These 13 clubs are a big part of FIBA’s history.”
Could the EuroLeague be involved in the NBA Europe project with both FIBA and the NBA?
“We sat at the table all three, and that is our job to bring everyone to the table. Where this ends up, I cannot tell because we are still in the process, but the atmosphere is correct and professional. Then, we need to see the next steps in this process. I would definitely stay with that because anything more concrete than that is now, perhaps immature, not only for an announcement, but immature even for a decision.”
Was FIBA informed by the EuroLeague about the eventual expansion that was announced?
“I think we need to take a step back and see that we have been trying to consistently give a clear orientation that the national teams need to play regularly. Since 2017, when one Continental Cup on every continent, in every cycle, has been replaced by essentially the qualifiers, we have been building the product for years. So there is undoubtedly now a clear value to blame the home and away, and in front of the audience, every three months. This came with a sacrifice on our part and a sacrifice to the benefit of the players who have, in reality, one summer free out of four from a big competition. In April, we approved the calendar all the way to 2031. FIBA has been clearly doing that upon requests from the players. We’ve made an additional investment from our European budget to give an extra day off for the 2025 EuroBasket. And in 2029, we will not have back-to-backs, because we received the message clearly from the players after EuroBasket 2022. Remembering that in Tokyo 2020, we already reduced the number of games, as we no longer play two groups of six but we play three groups of four, and the games have been reduced, in Los Angeles 2028, we will have even more rest days for the players. That is our mentality when it comes to the calendar. Our top league in Europe has been expanding and expanding. We also want to better understand the long-term strategic vision. This is part of the discussions we’ve had over the last two years, because the meetings did not start now that the NBA showed interest. We have been having meetings for two and a half years now, very regularly. It is clear that the clubs have not been able to crystallize a clear concept of where the competition goes. There seems to have been a change of mind, perhaps, and then came this expansion. I definitely have one comment: for us, including a team from outside Europe, meaning outside FIBA European membership, is not something we approve of, and it is something we will discuss both with ECA as well as with our membership. The second element is that I’m really concerned, because we will not accept that the national leagues reduce their calendar. I think we have arrived now, or have even surpassed, I would say, the tolerance levels of this eight-month season that we have in Europe. I do believe that, already as of 2021, it could or even should have thought of splitting the league. I understand there are certain thoughts in the EuroLeague that it’s not my job to announce about this, but for them, it’s also a work in progress. I received information beforehand that this would happen because there is communication. At the same time, we have to see how we can accommodate the windows in the best possible way next year; this is something that is really very close to the heart of our National Federations.”
The second part of the interview, where FIBA’s Secretary General, Andreas Zagklis, speaks about the growth of the Basketball Champions League and the impact of the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup on smaller markets like Switzerland, will be released soon.
PHOTO CREDIT: FIBA