By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
It’s been almost a month since basketball stopped all over the world, and the real question at this point seems to be more about the long-term future of the sport in Europe than anything else.
The season in most domestic leagues has been canceled with some few but notable exceptions (Spain, Turkey, France, Germany, ABA League, Israel), which at this point are suspended. The Basketball Champions League will hopefully complete the season in late September, and the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague remains the most crucial question along with the 7DAYS EuroCup.
No matter what happens with the 2019-20 season, the impact of the pandemic can’t be denied on every level, including the finances of the club. Eurohoops asked all the EuroLeague clubs their opinion on the matter, asking three specific questions and aiming to get the complete picture of a continually evolving landscape in crisis. Out of the 18 clubs, Fenerbahce, Olympiacos, FB Barcelona, Zalgiris Kaunas, and Crvena Zvezda answered the call.
“Many things will be different”
Zalgiris GM Paulius Motejunas had given an interview providing his takes on the possible future, Olympiacos GM Nikos Lepeniotis stated to Eurohoops that at this point the priority is human life and also presented an article with financial details by projecting a 50% loss in revenues and Crvena Zvezda‘s president Nebojsa Covic sent his message for the current, totally unpredictable, situation.
FC Barcelona clarified that due to the tragic global circumstances, at this point, they are declining an answer, and Fenerbahce‘s GM Mauricio Gherardini, one of the most experienced basketball minds in Europe, was the only one to give answers to the following three questions.
– With the season on hiatus, what are the problems that COVID-19 has caused to the club so far?
I guess COVID-19 generated somehow the same consequences the real virus brings: it left us breathless, it took us the oxygen away, where the oxygen is represented by our competitions, our fans, our sponsors. It represented an unprecedented surreal event.
– Do you think that the whole professional sports landscape will change for the following year, especially in EuroLeague?
It’s too early to say as we don’t have all the answers yet: we are still dealing with the COVID-19 emergency, and it’s reasonable to think that it will take time to go back to a degree of normality. The overall scenario will be significantly affected, no doubt: the size of this impact is still unknown at the moment.
– We don’t ask you to predict anything, but what do you consider at this point the possible scenario for next season, not only about the potential dates but mainly about the conditions that clubs would operate and games would be played?
As of today, we still do not have all the needed answers. The way the virus emergency can be controlled will dictate the new scenario: prioritizing people’s health, we shall then understand how logistically any competition can be organized and run. Many things will be different, and habits will have to change.