General Secretary Andreas Zagklis, while explaining their partnership with the NBA and the relations of the leagues, stated that FIBA stands by everyone.
Andreas Zagklis, Secretary General of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), answered the questions of Cosmote TV from Greece. While making statements about the pandemic process, his partnerships with the American National Basketball Association (NBA) and the relations of the leagues, Zagklis stated that FIBA stands by everyone.
Andreas Zagklis’ explanations are as follows:
We realized that the problems experienced in the past during the pandemic process can be relativized.
“In difficult times, everyone seeks an environment where they feel safer. And we have been in this position since the first days of the pandemic. Where the basketball community is looking for us. I can say that FIBA is the natural area of federations, leagues, everyone. In this process, we talked about our actions. We were the first sport to make a global protocol for all tournaments, we were the first sport to play in qualifiers on 5 continents, more than a thousand athletes traveled in November 2020 and no one got sick. They played in Eurobasket, America, Africa and Asia Cup qualifiers. All this has made us stronger, and I think that there is no doubt that all this has increased the credibility of our organization as one of the leaders of the sports movement. FIBA was ahead in most of the actions that took place during the pandemic. At the same time, I’m thinking, and we’re starting to see that little by little, the members of the basketball family are also getting closer together. We understood that the problems experienced in the past can be relativized in the pandemic.”
We Need to Understand Where European Teams Are Going
“I believe that every meeting should take place in an environment where everyone should discuss their future strategy and see with others where they can go, without keeping any secrets,” Zagklis said. We have a strategic partnership with the NBA. In the FIBA General Assembly reports I always refer to the NBA and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as the two strategic partners of FIBA, because we have a very precise strategic alliance with the IOC for the Olympic Games and basketball’s position there. We have a strategic partnership with the NBA to grow the sport worldwide. As I said from the beginning, we need to understand where our clubs and teams in Europe are going and try to combine strategies. This is our future. There is no doubt that strategic cooperation is the future. Because if there is only unity, the cake of the market will grow, and there is no doubt that we can have common sense about the calendar only through coexistence. I don’t want to comment on scenarios. I gave a very clear explanation. I think that the meetings held were held in a good atmosphere and now our job is to move the conversations forward and find solutions in this beautiful environment. I don’t think it’s good to develop scenarios for either our fans or our federations.”
FIBA Is Here For Everyone
When asked whether he was proud to be a part of European basketball, Zagklis said, “I don’t take it personally and I’m not talking about humility, I’m really saying it institutionally. We do not hesitate to fight for it. I see great sympathy between federations, I see the growing cooperation between federations and leagues, which makes me very happy and I also see a much better degree of communication between clubs, whether they play in the EuroLeague or another league. This is very important for us as we are very close to the start of the national team matches for the qualifiers and the new round of the World Cup. I have to say that, I think all the teams know very well what they are looking for and that FIBA is always with them. “I see no harm in saying this to the public: FIBA is here for everyone,” he said.
