By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Shmuel Frenkel, Israeli League Chairman, sent a statement to the Union of European Leagues of Basketball, in regards to the domestic leagues losing their power due to the current situation between FIBA and EuroLeague.
The statement reads:
“Dear Mr. Tomas Van Den Spiegel,
We, The Israeli BSL, have decided not to attend the recent meeting in Barcelona, since we feel that the Domestic Leagues’ voice isn’t heard and considered. Not only are the Domestic League’s interests aren’t considered – they are harmed time and again. Even though the Leagues had several very legitimate complaints against the Euroleague’s actions and decisions in recent years, the situation hasn’t changed.
Over the last seasons, we’ve seen the Euroleague schedule increase dramatically, to a longer EuroLeague season than ever before, and the scheduling of games on Friday night – which of course comes at the expense of several Domestic Leagues.
We are now experiencing an unprecedented situation, in which once every month, the Euroleague plays two match-days in the same week, despite the fact that the schedule doesn’t allow for FIBA World Cup qualifying games’ windows during the season.
It is our understanding, that if the Euroleague will increase to 18 teams, once every two weeks the teams will play two Euroleague games in 48 hours – which will cause an additional critical blow to local leagues, financially and marketing-wise. There might be even a situation in which teams from the same country will be played 3 times in the same week one against another, with the fans having trouble to keep track of the specific competition (League game, cup game or international game).
It’s important to remind everyone that the Domestic Leagues haven’t increased the length of their seasons in recent years and have kept their schedule similar for many seasons.
We think that in response to the Euroleague’s official press release, of an alleged agreement on several important issues, the ULEB should clarify things with a release of its own.
Lately, we have read reports that the Euroleague’s goal and vision is to include 24 teams, an occurrence which will gravely harm the Domestic Leagues. All of us must be very cautious, in order to avoid a longer and even busier Euroleague schedule. It’s important to note that a very few ULEB member leagues can send teams to the Euroleague according to the basis of competitive sports achievements.
We feel that there’s no comprehensive thinking regarding the Euroleague model since their teams are now maintaining a longer and more expensive roster – a financial supplement which isn’t matched by the additional revenue of the participating teams. Furthermore, the very deep rosters take players from the other domestic teams and increase the gap between the Euroleague Clubs and the rest of the teams.
We believe that the European football model, where teams never play more than one international game per week, is much more suitable.
We think that the Domestic Leagues must meet and express our unified stand on these matters.
Sincerely,
Mr. Shmuel Frenkel,
BSL Israel Chairman”