By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
A total of 31 MPs raised the subject and are asking the Commission to provide an urgent solution to the problem that has arisen with the participation of EuroLeague players in the National Teams during the World Cup Qualifiers.
Guoga sent the following letter on the subject.
Dear Colleagues,
I want to thank Mrs Maletič for raising this important topic amongst the Members of the European Parliament. However, as someone who is involved with basketball for some time, I would like to express my view.
I completely agree that there is a big problem at the moment related to the European basketball, a problem which concerns the whole basketball community, however, I am not convinced that Euroleague is solely to blame for the current situation.
Historically Euroleague and FIBA never had any problems of this kind (overlapping schedules), that is until FIBA unilaterally decided on the new national team game window policy. Previously the World Cup and Olympic qualification tournaments were played exclusively during summertime, and 2017 is the first year it will be split into 3 “windows” – November, February and June/July. It should be noted that although this situation mostly concerns European basketball the decision itself was made by FIBA International.
There is an obvious flaw with this system, as the world’s strongest league, NBA, where some of the best European players are signed (f.e. most of the Spanish national team) is in session during November and February. On top of that it also overlaps with Euroleague’s schedule which also boasts significant numbers of top players, yet of these two only Euroleague is being forced by FIBA to release their players for the November and February window sessions.
This situation causes serious trouble for the Euroleague clubs. Euroleague clubs are mostly comprised of national team players, and at least 8 players must be registered for a Euroleague match. This system might put the clubs in a situation where they won’t be able to play games and will have to pay penalties. It might also be risky to the health of the players.
I do agree with Mrs Maletič that national teams play an extremely important role and act as the pinnacle above any other competition, yet I do believe that clubs are also of paramount importance as they play a special role of their own in fostering the European basketball. They are active throughout the year in various competitions, are responsible for the vast majority of basketball popularity, raise and foster new talents and pay the salaries of the players. It’s the clubs that keep European basketball alive through the year and their opinion should matter also.
To finalize, I am not convinced that the new windows system is in any way better than the old summertime tournament system. Even if Euroleague gives in and suffers all the loses related to this decision, national teams still won’t be able to call on their NBA players during November and February windows. Therefore, this problem would be extremely damaging to some of the national teams. I think European institutions should be mediators instead of judges in this situation, helping our teams and FIBA to find common ground instead of forcing one position over another. Everybody is a loser in this basketball Cold War.