What sentence would you choose to sum-up these firsts Basketball Champions League seasons?
Trying to build a new model for European club competitions. We acknowledge that it is a marathon and not a sprint, we know that it will take a long time to bring BCL to the level we would like to reach, although we are happy with the progress that has been made these firsts seasons, and more importantly we are very pleased with the reactions we are receiving from clubs across Europe towards our initiatives.
We have also received a vote of confidence from the markets, following the entry of our new American investors. All of this, if I can summarize it, falls into the approach that we have about proposing a new model where FIBA and National Leagues work hand-in-hand to provide a model that allows clubs to have a long-term plan and vision, with a level of certainty.
We acknowledge that basketball is not played by 10 or 11 clubs in Europe, but by hundreds of clubs, and we provide this sort of guidance and support to all of them.
What role does the Leagues play in shaping the competition? Does they provide some feedback on which clubs may be suitable or interesting to the project?
We have a really good collaboration with the Leagues, there is a joint-venture between FIBA and them, and they represent 50% of our Board: they are an integral part. We have continued discussions with all the Leagues and they have direct communications with all the clubs, they inform them about the Rankings, about how many places a League is entitled to have in the competition.
They don’t necessarily guide the clubs towards BCL: I don’t think it is a League job to do it, I think that a League’s responsibility is to inform the clubs about what’s happening in European basketball and about the different options they may have.
The pre-requisite to participate is the successful domestic league result, but our choice is specific and perhaps limited when it comes down to selecting the teams. This year is quite unique and exceptional: the standard process is that we look at the clubs who are interested and have applied to the BCL, we look at their rankings and we choose who to register for our competition.
Post your comment
Visualizza commenti