Zagklis explains BCL's growth, defends FIBA windows, hints at Russia's return / News - Basketnews.com

Andreas Zagklis, FIBA Secretary General, talked about the progress the BCL is making and stressed that the qualifiers could benefit national teams despite coinciding with EuroLeague games. He also referred to the preparations ahead of the 2023 World Cup and left the door open for Russia.

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

In an interview with the Greek local newspaper 'Amarysia', FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis touched on several issues relevant to the competitions and tournaments organized by the world federation.

The 43-year-old exec referred to the FIBA Windows, which coincided with EuroLeague games last November. As a result, teams were again deprived of some of their best players during the 2023 World Cup Qualifiers.

"National teams cannot compete only when they have their top stars at their disposal," the Greek official thinks.

"The fact that EuroLeague matches take place on the same day is clearly their decision. In November 2022, we saw that amendments to the program are feasible. The FIBA calendar has been scheduled until 2027.

We have already made many changes. For example, games were moved from Thursday to Friday almost a month before they were held. A decision that came at a financial cost to FIBA and the federations (due to stadiums, tickets, flights, etc.)," Zagklis said.

Credit FIBA

FIBA Secretary General repeated that "national teams playing home games on a regular basis is decisive for the development of the sport, whether the top athletes of each country are available or not."

Although he acknowledges that "if all the athletes from all the clubs were available in the qualifiers, the product would be even better," Zagklis adds that "to qualify for a big event, depth is needed."

"The countries that have worked in players' development -and we see that those are not always the largest countries- are the ones that face the least problems," he argued.

Zagklis hailed the FIBA Basketball Champions League's growth, citing some interesting numbers on the way.

"By every measure, it's the No.2 competition in Europe," he claimed before going into more depth.

"The key thing is that teams know that if they have a good year in their domestic league, there's a competition for them out there, which can take them to the next level. The BCL is also a model in the approach to social media, in terms of our numbers of followers, engagement, and the promotion of athletes.

For the past two years, it has been the fastest-growing league in any sport in Europe," Zagklis stressed.

Asked about the rewards and prizes allocated to the winning team(s), Zagklis said the BCL winner gets 1,000,000 euros and the financial fee shared by the teams is around 3,000,000 euros.

"The BCL constantly conducts seminars on how teams will gain more experience, how to make a stronger presence on social media, etc. This means that teams get a package of services much bigger than the prize itself," he said.

Credit FIBA

As the 2023 FIBA World Cup is approaching, Zagklis gave some insights into the innovations expected at the forthcoming tourney, which will be held in three countries (Japan, Philippines, Indonesia) and five venues (Okinawa, Jakarta, Mall of Asia, Araneta and the Philippines Arena that will host the final round starting with the quarter-finals).

"The love of basketball in the Philippines was already known. Indonesia made a very positive impression on us, although the team did not qualify for the final stage of the World Cup. In Japan, ticket sales are at an advanced level," Zagklis commented.

"For the first time, each host country had the opportunity to choose one of the teams that have qualified and be with that team in the same group. The Philippines chose the United States, Japan chose Slovenia, and Indonesia picked Canada."

Zagklis promised that this time, athletes will get more rest time compared to recent tournaments. Players will only move once between countries, from Okinawa (Japan) and Jakarta (Indonesia).

"Also, the event was moved a week earlier, after consultation with all the leagues, in order to give more preparation time to the teams. For the first time, athletes will stay in single rooms, paid for by FIBA and the organizers, while in all hotels hosting athletes, we will have special lounges, providing the best accommodation conditions for them," he explained.

Credit BNS

Asked whether Greece is on FIBA's map for the events to come, Zagklis reminded everyone that the country has a tradition of hosting big tournaments, as the OAKA arena was the venue for the 1995 EuroBasket and the 1998 World Cup. He also revealed that FIBA has been in talks with the Greek Basketball Federation about the subject.

"It would be a great pleasure if a great tournament came back here. After all, Greece has hosted everything. I don't think there are many arenas in the world that have hosted as many events as OAKA," he underlined, while at the same time pointing out that the World Cup requires a minimum capacity of8.000 seats for the group stage and of15.000 for the final stage.

"Greece certainly has good hotels, but they also need 1-2 good arenas. Discussions for 2027 and 2031 are still open. What counts is the market factor - how much the country loves basketball, how good a national team is, and the country's population.

For instance, now the World Cup is going to three countries with a total population of 450 million people. Indonesia has 290 million inhabitants and together with Japan and the Philippines it's close to half a billion people," Zagklis said.

Another important issue is what will happen with Russia and Belarus. The countries have been banned from competing internationally by the International Olympic Committee, which, however, has been looking for a pathway back for their athletes ahead of the 2024 Olympics.

According to Zagklis, FIBA has already made decisions on the matter, which will be re-considered by their Board of Directors in May, according to any developments that may have occurred. However, he left the door open for Russia to rejoin FIBA tournaments in the near future.

"Our sport has proven, as it happened in Atlanta (1996) with Yugoslavia, that when there is a will, there is a way. If the circumstances allow for it, we will look for some changes, because there is no doubt that Russia is a very big power in world basketball," Zagklis said.

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