By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis spoke in a recent interview with sportspromedia.com about FIBA’s relationship with the EuroLeague, as well as why he deems Basketball Champions League has a “vote of confidence” from the market, as it keeps attracting more and more teams for its next campaign.
“I think down the line there will be opportunities, and this is why we have started to talk. But of course, this is not a process that you can so easily accelerate one way or the other; it is a process that takes time, it is a process that requires the building of an atmosphere of trust, and it requires also some steps from both sides”, said Zagklis when asked if there’s a scope of a future collaboration between FIBA and the EuroLeague in the future.
“FIBA has in the past – and in particular in the last 14 months that I have been in charge – shown in a very tangible manner that not only is it ready to talk and negotiate, but it has already made steps in that direction”, he mentioned.
Additionally, Zagklis explains how the rise of the Basketball Champions League in recent years has brought more and more attention to the competition, as a product, in the market.
Zagklis comments that “it is not very often” that an international federation brings in external investors, but he describes FIBA’s partners as “people who also love basketball”.
“After three years the Champions League was ready to go into a new era. And we are glad that we have teammates in this process, individuals who have proven pedigree in investment and expertise in the media and entertainment business”, he said.
“I think it is a vote of confidence from the market to the BCL. It establishes the BCL as a product that is here to stay and is here to grow. That is the important statement that this deal brings and gives to the European basketball market. At the same time, it brings something that we consider very important: it brings the vision for a very consolidated network of international club competitions under the umbrella of FIBA”.
“So one, it’s a vote of confidence and establishes the product. It gives the long-term vision to the clubs that commit to the BCL that it’s here to stay under certain principles that will not change. And it puts another important stone into a building that is the network of international club competitions, where we of course want to be every year more and more inclusive.”