In his interview that was aired on COSMOTE TV, the secretary general of FIBA Andreas Zagklis spoke about the power of unity, pointing out that FIBA is here for everyone, avoiding divisions within the world of basketball. He also acknowledged that there is momentum and a good atmosphere to have discussions with all the relevant stakeholders.<\/p>\n
FIBA during the pandemic<\/b><\/p>\n
Talking about his three years as secretary general of FIBA, he explained:<\/p>\n
“The truth is that it seems to be more than three years after everything that happened. It is definitely three years that as a basketball family we have been even more united.\u201d<\/b><\/p>\n
“We sensed it from the first days of the pandemic. The basketball community looked to the place that\u2026 I would say it is the natural space for everyone, for the federations, for the Leagues – for everyone. Actions took place. We were the first sport to create a global protocol for all the competitions, we were the first sport to play qualifiers on all 5 Continents, in November 2020, when more than 1000 athletes travelled and no one got sick. They played the qualifiers for Eurobasket, the American, the African, and the Asian Cup. All this made us stronger and I think there is no doubt that all this increased the credibility of the organization as a leader of the sports movement. In many of the things that happened, FIBA was ahead. And at the same time I think, and we are slowly starting to see that, that the members of the basketball family also came closer to each other. We understood that problems of the past are relativized in a pandemic”.<\/p>\n
A more united basketball<\/b><\/p>\n
Reflecting about the reduction of the distances between the different actors of basketball world and the possibility of a real union, Zagklis stated:<\/p>\n
“Clearly, unity is part of our work. We are not an entity that only has a regulatory role, that makes the rules, that only organises the World Cup and big competitions. We are the body that aims to promote the sport and its development. We are seeing at the same time that the unity of the FIBA Family made the organization stronger, there is no doubt for me that through partnerships the pie will grow and this will automatically benefit both our clubs and the National Leagues, as well as the National teams.\u201d<\/p>\n
NBA and Euroleague<\/b><\/p>\n
As concerns the relationship between FIBA and the NBA, Zagklis firmly believes that the best way to create a positive environment is strategic coexistence.<\/p>\n
\u201cWithout being secretive at all, I believe that the meeting that take place, should be carried out in an environment where everyone puts their future strategy on the table and you must see with others where everyone can go. We have a strategic partnership with the NBA – always in the reports of the FIBA general assembly I refer to, the NBA and the IOC are seen as two strategic partners of FIBA.\u201d Going into more details: \u201cWe have a strategic coexistence with the IOC for the Olympic Games and the position of basketball there. And with the NBA we have a strategic partnership to grow the sport worldwide. As I said from the beginning, we need to understand where our teams, the clubs, a very important group of European teams are going and try to make the strategies converge. This is the future. There is no doubt that strategic coexistence is the future.\u201d<\/p>\n
Even from a business point of view, coordinating each action plan is fundamental to let the basketball world grow.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is because, as I told you, only through unity the market share can grow, speaking in commercial terms, but there is no doubt that through this coexistence we will be able to have some things, which are things of common sense regarding the calendar.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t want to comment on speculations. I made a statement that is very clear. I think that the discussions that take place can take place in a good atmosphere and beyond that it is a matter of moving them forward in this good atmosphere and of finding solutions. I believe that speculations isn\u2019t good neither for our fans, nor for our Federations\u201d.<\/p>\n
Moving from the NBA to the Euroleague, its internal affairs and the needs of the European clubs, he pointed out again that FIBA is willing to support everyone.<\/p>\n
“I think the teams know very well what each of them is looking for. And they know very well that FIBA is always there for them. I do not have any problem, as I told them on a private level, to say this publicly: FIBA is here for everyone”.<\/p>\n
His own role in this process<\/b><\/p>\n
When asked on a personal level how intriguing it was to be the one who will unite the European basketball, he replied:<\/p>\n
“I do not focus on my role and I do not say that\u00a0 <\/span>to show humility, I say it really institutionally. I see a wonderful sympathy between the Federations, I see an ever-increasing cooperation of the Federations with the Leagues, which makes me very happy, and at the same time I see a much better degree of communication between the clubs, whether they play in the Euroleague or elsewhere, and their Federations. Being very close to the new start of the national teams games for the Qualifications and the new round of the World Cup, this is essential for us\u201d.<\/p>\n BASKETBALL CHAMPIONS LEAGUE<\/b><\/p>\n Finally, he also opens up about the BCL and its positive development.<\/p>\n “I think the BCL surprises us every year, both thanks to its pan-European character and the quality of the teams, as well as thanks to the quality of the final tournament, which is every year better. During the pandemic period, two final phases took place and I would like to include it in our overall strategy. One of the 8 strategic goals of FIBA is the configuration of international club events. We have the BCL, and we also have the BCL Americas. We made three Final 8 in the pandemic, two in Europe and one in America. Every year more and more teams understand that this event helps to develop the teams, but also the national leagues. This is one of our basic principles: the road to the BCL goes through the strengthening of the domestic leagues”.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The need for unity: FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis talks about the importance of a strategic coexistence between the different stakeholders in basketball<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":146,"featured_media":244224,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_spbk_hide_featured":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[83,82,92],"tags":[],"rumors":[],"typology":[],"posizionamento":[],"class_list":["post-244225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball-champions-league","category-euroleague","category-nba"],"yoast_head":"\n