By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
In a more than interesting interview to “El Mundo Deportivo” and Jose Ignacio Huguet, FIBA secretary general Patrik Baumann talked about FIBA’s intentions toward the Euroleague and European basketball in general.
The bottom line of the interview is that FIBA will not change its new national teams calendar and the plan to make the FIBA World Cup the premier basketball competition, having the blessings of the NBA. Baumann didn’t openly admit that the NBA may be a partner in any capacity in a “new” Euroleague under FIBA control – something that’s been said for some time – but it’s obvious that the NBA has a role to play.
As Baumann said: “In the last fifteen years we had problems, we had failures and few resources. Today we are in another situation, we are strong, we have resources, we have pretty clear ideas. Now we need to multiply our efforts in the market. We want to be the number one sport in the world. We share this vision with the NBA,which is now sitting on our Board and works with us. We believe we have an incredible opportunity”.
So what FIBA can do better? “We are already tired after fifteen years. FIBA is here to grow basketball, to manage a European league and the clubs. We are ready, we had put money and ended up with nonsense like having different rules. The NBA could help us out to be better than the English Premier League”. As Baumann said: “The Chinese league has a sponsor who pays 65 million dollars annually. Now compare that with what we do here in Europe”.
Still Baumann avoided to attack directly the Euroleague: “I am very motivated, because the federations support us and also the presidents of many clubs. We are motivated, we want to invest and have no desire to do something more. In FIBA we do not want to manage a domestic or continental league and there are people who do well on the other side of the Atlantic. And in Barcelona too”.