By Nikos Varlas/ varlas@eurohoops.net
VITORIA-GASTEIZ –In the past few seasons, the main issue when any journalist had a chance to talk with Jordi Bertomeu was EuroLeague’s debate with FIBA. That doesn’t seem to be the main concern of the league anymore, as it was proven in the latest meeting of the EuroLeague CEO with a panel of selected media, which included Eurohoops.
While there are still issues to be resolved, the main focus of the EuroLeague is the financial aspect of the sport and the business model of European basketball, which remains probably the biggest concern for the sport in the old continent. “Our goal is to help our clubs to limit their financial damages”, Bertomeu admitted. “We need people in the clubs who are specialized in the financial segment, we are constantly increasing the people who work for this purpose, but it is not enough yet. We have to worry about how basketball in Europe is structured as an economic model because there is clearly a weakness. Ten years ago our principle was to gain stability. It is the first season in these 19 years that the league was so competitive. Our feeling is that basically, the product has improved even further”.
And that creates a bigger need for transparency and Bertomeu talked about the Financial Fairplay which is implemented by the league and also about the challenges of having to deal with many countries, many different taxations and different economic values. “We have all the players’ contracts”, Bertomeu clarified on the fact that only 65% of a club’s budget must be given to player’s salaries. “If something goes wrong, then we re-evaluate the data. All this is done in order for us to be able to create and share more money in the clubs. Taxation systems are different in each country, and that’s a drawback in the whole effort since the data is different in each country. So the Financial Fair Play affair is becoming more difficult and complex. Think about the prices of season tickets or even a single game ticket, which has a different value depending on the country. This means that when we have a deal with a sponsor, we have to see how this will be evaluated on a country by country basis and how we will then share the money in our clubs . At the end of the day, the bottom line is that in Europe, it’s very difficult to have everywhere the same laws and that there are big clubs where owners put a lot of money out of their pocket. We look at the next five, ten years and all the decisions we must take, must be in the light of the interest and business plans of our clubs”.
The calendar, FIBA, and the NBA
Jordi Bertomeu was asked about the calendar issues, which are currently the main debate between FIBA and EuroLeague due to the national team “windows”, and he stated that the EuroLeague is open to discuss the issue: “We have always been champions of dialogue. We are always open to discuss and find solutions. We are available to talk with all involved parties whenever we are asked”.
On the other hand, it’s obvious that things in Europe are changing and a private league, rival to UEFA’s Champions League, can be also on the cards in the future of European football. Bertomeu said on the matter, referring to the football ECA: “We have been discussing it for the last season years, we meet and share views twice a year. We can not deny that our vision for the future is close to theirs. Having the best teams, the security for a long time which will create stability at the financial and competitive level, with no relegations. We have similar philosophies and ideas. The difference is that in basketball, we have fewer countries with strong leagues, while in football, there are several countries with really strong national leagues”.
And there’s always the relation with another private league, the NBA, for which Bartomeu admitted: “The NBA is the organization that “runs” the basketball. The project of the league in Africa seems to make sense. FIBA can help the NBA in its goals in that continent. Unfortunately, due to the current calendar, we can’t have games between our clubs and NBA teams. Until recently the calendar gave us more flexibility. This is why the NBA has changed its strategy and now prefers to focus on a regular season game held in Europe”.
The expansion and the upcoming season
Next season EuroLeague will include 18 clubs, but an even bigger expansion is not in the immediate plans of the league: “The quality of basketball in the league is one of the most basic ingredients. Going to 20 clubs is probably a risk to our quality and competitiveness. If you increase the teams more, then there is also a risk of the national leagues being affected and we do not want to create a problem. Our collaboration with IMG has the common goal for more competition, games, and revenues. The most important thing is to find clubs in markets that can really help us grow. And if we find them, then we can have new licenses for new teams. We want to give two qualifying Euroleague spots to the EuroCup if possible from this summer. This will give us an extra value in both competitions. And that’s why we have to wait for the end of the season to have a complete picture for the wildcard candidate of next season. Then we will see what suits the Euroleague philosophy, which means stability. The German League finishes is season last and then we will take our decision. The main criterion is to choose a candidate that can have a future in our competition, we will not decide by thinking only next season”.
Bertomeu also promised that the EuroLeague will try its best to improve the television programming of the games, however, this is an issue of the local television right holders, and speaking about the upcoming Final Four, he didn’t confirm that Paris will get the event: “There are several options. We want to do it in different cities. Athens is one of the cities that wants to host the Final Four either next season, or in the following years. Paris is also on the list for the next season. Athens has made it difficult for the next season. The city of the next Final Four will be announced before the season ends. There have been unofficial offers even from Middle East countries, but this looks very distant. Our strength is our fans, so we want to be sure that in the Final Four we will have people that really enjoy it”.