Bertomeu warns: Euroleague is facing uncertain times and NBA printing!

Bertomeu warns: Euroleague is facing uncertain times and NBA printing!

Genf, Schweiz - The former managing director of Euroleague, Jordi Bertomeu, expresses serious concerns about the current situation of the league in a recent interview. After over two decades at the top from 2000 until his resignation in 2022, he describes the Euroleague as unstable and sees a clear absence of a common vision among the clubs. In this context, Bertomeu's criticism of Marco Baldi agrees that the league threatens to grind on the individual interests of the clubs. The Euroleague has had a change in management twice for the past three years, and Paulius Motiejunas is currently leading the league after being a functional at Zalgiris Kaunas.

Bertomeu sees the need to bring calm back into the system and criticizes the passive attitude of many clubs that are waiting for the NBA. In addition to this problem, he also expresses lack of understanding on the reserved role of FIBA ​​in basketball development. He welcomes the decision of the Euroleague to increase to 20 teams and even hopes for an increase to 24 teams in the near future. Nevertheless, he warns that such an increase could put additional strain on the already dense game schedule, which could mean more than 90 games per season for the teams.

challenges and opportunities for the Euroleague

The Euroleague, so Bertomeu, is currently a critical year. The loss of Berlin as a location and the addition of Dubai are changes that he both regretted and as part of the business operations. Although he points out that the Euroleague works for fans and records a high number of viewers, there are also alarming trends. In particular, the influence of the NBA on European basketball is worried about Bertomeu, since more and more talents are lost to North American colleges. In this context, even as successful clubs like Real Madrid think about the abolition of your youth department.

In another conversation with the basketball sphere, Bertomeu said that the EuroLeague would 25 years may be completely discontinued. The current ambiguity in the orientation of the league and internal disagreements among the clubs contribute to the fact that the NBA has recognized the weaknesses of the Euroleague and wants to capitalize on them. Five years ago it would have been unimaginable that the NBA could take over the Euroleague.

At a meeting in Geneva, in which both representatives of the NBA, FIBA ​​and the Euroleague took part, the future of basketball in Europe was discussed. All Euroleague clubs with "A" license were present, with the exception of CSKA Moscow. According to the basketball sphere , the mood was positive during the meeting. The topics included the FIBA ​​windows and regulations regarding NCAA and college basketball.

The NBA made plans for a new league in Europe, which is supposed to be partly open, so that teams can qualify in terms of sport, for example through the Fiba Basketball Champions League and national championships. However, there is skepticism among Euroleague stakeholders about the financial contributions that would be necessary to participate in this new model. Historically, Euroleague clubs had guaranteed places without additional costs, which could now be at stake.

The challenge for clubs such as Partizan and Crvena Zvezda as well as other non -licensed teams is that they have to make high investments in order to gain access to the best competitions. This topic could be increasingly occurring in the coming season and the structure of European basketball could change.