By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
During his visit to Russia, Goran Sasic (pictured next to Zeljko Obradovic and Novak Djokovic) gave several interviews on various issues, including the expansion and the future of the Russian teams in the competition, however, he added an interesting point while speaking to Sport-Express, the biggest Russian sports newspaper.
While he believes that it’s hard for a club from Dubai to play in the next season in the EuroLeague, he explained why he prefers an expansion to the Arabian market than to Western Europe.
Speaking strictly about the business side of the deal, he explained: “I’ve never understood why the Euroleague seeks to expand the presence of clubs from France, Germany and the UK. I think we should focus on the mainstays of basketball. Crvena Zvezda, Partizan, Valencia, and Virtus deserved the A license more than the clubs from the three listed countries. Moreover, the second Lithuanian team deserves to be a shareholder of the Euroleague, the second Russian team deserves to be a shareholder of the Euroleague, the third team from Greece deserves to be a shareholder of the Euroleague, the third team from Turkey deserves to be a shareholder of the Euroleague, the second team from Israel deserves to be a shareholder much more than France, Germany or Great Britain”.
The argument is financial: “Do you know how much the Euroleague received from a television contract with Germany over about ten years? Zero euro. We entered the French market, but the situation there was even worse. The organization itself had to pay extra for the tournament to be shown on French TV. And we are talking about millions of euros. On the other hand, there are television contracts with Greece, Israel, or Turkey, where the organization’s income is around 10 million euros per deal. Therefore, I would focus on countries willing to pay a lot of money for content, rather than Germany with zero income or France, for which you also have to pay extra.
The other side gives me the following argument: you cannot turn to such sponsors as conditional Sony or Vodafone, if you do not have clubs from France, Germany, or the UK. Well, now we have two clubs from France, we have two clubs from Germany, and a club from London plays in the Eurocup. Where’s the big money? I don’t see them yet.
That’s why I encourage taking the project from Dubai. I think this will increase the number of television contracts and sponsors, and clubs will begin to receive serious prize money. It’s not for nothing that now many matches of top European football clubs are taken to the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar… They feel that this is a good opportunity for everyone. And given that football generates much higher revenues, it makes sense for basketball to follow the same path. That’s why I say I raise both hands for the project from Dubai. Of course, I would be happy if it happened next season, but it’s also not the end of the world if it happens in two years”.