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Iconic player and well-connected manager. The Euroleague is now headed by the legendary Serb Bodiroga

Dejan Bodiroga (right) should help resolve the conflict between the Euroleague and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) /Nikolai Galkin/TASS

For the first time in the 22 years of the tournament's existence, the head of the Euroleague Basketball has changed. "Vedomosti. Sport” tells why the clubs were unhappy with the departed Jordi Bertomeu and what role Dejan Bodiroga can play in bringing the Euroleague, the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the National Basketball Association (NBA) closer together.

Bertomeu was opposed by Israelis and Greeks

The resignation of Jordi Bertomeu was a process that dragged on for almost a year, and preparations, perhaps even longer. The dispute about the change of leadership of the Euroleague was conducted by 11 founding clubs of the tournament, which have permanent licenses to play. The teams were divided into two camps. On the one hand, the Spanish clubs Real, Barcelona and Baskonia, as well as the Turkish Anadolu Efes and Fenerbahce, were in favor of maintaining the status quo. On the other hand, Russian CSKA, Greek Olympiakos and Panathinaikos, Israeli Maccabi, Italian Milan and Lithuanian Zalgiris wanted changes.

Back in April 2021, seven of the 11 founders of the tournament discussed the possibility of Bertomeu's resignation at a closed meeting in Athens. In June 2021, the clubs removed Bertomeu from the Euroleague Executive Board for Commercial Assets (ECA). In November 2021, the Spaniard's opponents garnered a majority in voting for him to step down as tournament director general. For the sake of removing Bertomeu, the named six clubs were even ready to postpone the vote in order to enlist the support of the newcomers of the tournament - German Bayern and French Villerbant, who were just preparing to receive permanent licenses. But it didn't come to that.

Bertomeu's main opponents were Maccabi and Panathinaikos owners David Federman and Dimitris Giannakopoulos. Israelis and Greeks did not like the income distribution model. From the 2020/21 season, payments for broadcasting rights and marketing contracts on the one hand, and sports results on the other, are made in the proportion of 79%/21% (previously it was 54%/46%). At the same time, teams ranked below 14th place do not receive "sports" deductions at all.

Jordi Bertomeu has been in charge of the Euroleague since 2000 /www. euroleaguebasketball.net

Panathinakos was also against the old income distribution system. The Athens club was ready to give up the A license while its owner called the Euroleague an "abomination" and accused Bertomeu of stealing. Giannakopoulos was even fined 140,000 and 70,000 euros.

Bertomeu was due to step down as CEO on June 30th. However, the Spaniard was at the Euroleague headquarters until the beginning of autumn, as the shareholder clubs chose a successor all this time. Only in mid-September, at a remote meeting of the council of shareholder clubs, Bertomeu's resignation was ratified, and Bodiroga was elected president and director of the tournament.

Legendary victories and participation in the conflict before the EuroBasket

One of the main advantages of the 49-year-old Bodiroga as the new head of the Euroleague is his recognition. Bodiroga did not play in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and did not win Olympic gold (only the silver of the 1996 Games in Atlanta), but turned into a legend. This was facilitated by two victories in the world championships, three triumphs in the Euroleague with Panathinaikos and Barcelona and titles in the championships of three different countries (Greece, Spain and Italy).

One of Bodiroga's strongest performances was the 1998 World Championship, where he led the Yugoslav national team to gold medals. In the final, the Balkans met with Russia and lost five points in the first half of the game, but snatched the victory with a score of 64:62. Then the Yugoslavs became world champions for the fourth time. The victory inspired the country, which after the collapse and the war included only the union of Serbia and Montenegro.

Dejan Bodiroga is a three-time winner of the Euroleague / Imago

Even then, Bodiroga acquired a cult status in the country. On the walls of the cities of Yugoslavia began to draw graffiti "Seks, droga I Bodiroga" (an answer to the American version of "Sex, drugs, rock and roll"). A music album with the same name was also released - it was recorded by the rock band "Dirty Inspector Blaža and the Chiefs" ("Prljavi Inspektor Blaža i Kljunovi").

The second advantage of Bodiroga is managerial experience and a good base of contacts. Bodiroga began to build a managerial career in the Italian Virtus Roma and Lottomatic, and from 2011 to 2015. served as vice-president of the Serbian Basketball Federation and called the silver team silver at the 2014 World Championship his success. The next stage of his career was work in the European division of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA-Europe), where Bodiroga headed the competition commission.

The Euroleague and FIBA ​​have been sorting things out since the moment when the strongest European clubs formed their own tournament. During the work of Bodiroga, one of the most serious exacerbations of the entire conflict occurred. Since 2016, FIBA ​​has created and actively promoted the Champions League - its answer to the Euroleague. Turkish clubs Galatasaray and Darushafak were even lured into this tournament from the Euroleague. In an attempt to promote the Champions League, FIBA ​​officially threatened the national federations with the disqualification of teams from all tournaments if clubs from their countries continued to play in the Euroleague. For this reason, the 2017 European Championship could take place without the participation of teams such as Spain, Greece or Russia.

“FIBA-Europe has a specific proposal for the Euroleague. For my part, I can say that basketball should be above politics. The players should not suffer because of the disputes of the functionaries. It is very difficult to imagine EuroBasket without Spain and Russia. Without these teams, the European Championship will not be real. I'm sure it won't come to that. Everyone should calm down and come to an agreement,” Bodiroga said at the height of the conflict.

As a result, all the best teams came to the EuroBasket, although, by an interesting coincidence, Slovenia won the tournament with Luka Doncic - a country whose clubs do not really participate in the Euroleague. FIBA limited itself to the fact that since that moment and still does not attract arbitrators cooperating with the Euroleague. However, the two organizations managed to reach an agreement on “windows” for World Cup qualifiers. True, due to the coincidence of calendars, the clubs still do not release all the players to the meetings of the national teams.

Connection with FIBA ​​and possible reforms

According to MozzartSport, Bodiroga's tasks will be to improve the image of the Euroleague and work on increasing competition between the participants in the competition. The tournament's interim general director, Marshall Glickman, will be responsible for the economic component. He has also been appointed special advisor to Euroleague Properties, the league's joint venture with IMG.

Glickman was president of the NBA's Portland Trail Blazers and broadcast coordinator and director of media sales for the North American tournament. Glickman manages the consulting firm G2 Strategic's and has worked regularly with the Euroleague under Bertomeu as a business advisor. Glickman is now expected to work closely with IMG to add value to the Euroleague and the clubs' commercial assets, grow fan base and continue to expand into global markets. In addition, his task is to assist Euroleague shareholders in hiring a permanent CEO.

Since 2022, Russian clubs have been suspended from playing in the Euroleague and Eurocup /vk.com/cskabasket

The Euroleague contract with the IMG agency, one of the leaders in the field of sports marketing, is valid until 2026. According to the terms of the agreement concluded in 2015 ., IMG will invest 630 million euros over 10 years in the prize fund of the tournament, TV broadcasts and marketing. Euroleague revenue for the 2021/22 season reached 100 million euros, and for the next season it is projected to grow by another 15%.

Bodiroga himself made one of the few statements in his new position during the annual meeting with representatives of the players' union. “We've seen the league grow for 22 years, but now it's time to take it to the next level. This is a new beginning and you, the players, are a fundamental part of the future development of the tournament. Basketball players are the main stars of the Euroleague, and we will continue to work to increase your credibility on and off the court, ”said the Serb.

FIBA-Europe President Turgay Demirel has already welcomed the appointment of Bodiroga and expressed hope for a joint search for a solution to the problem of "windows". “We need the best players both in the final round of the competition and during the qualifiers,” he said. We all know the situation in football. Team matches are constantly played there, and all the stars come to their teams. In basketball, players don't want to come not only because of the NBA, but also because of the Euroleague. Perhaps with the new leadership [of the Euroleague] there will be new discussions and, hopefully, some kind of decision will follow.”

Bodiroga sees in the Euroleague an analogue of the NBA - competitions with a closed format. In April 2021, he said that by the 2023/24 season, the league should have at least 16 clubs with permanent licenses, and the ideal plan would be to completely control the composition of the participants by this time and not depend on the results of other tournaments. In 2021, the Spanish edition of Marca even reported that the Euroleague, as part of trilateral negotiations with the NBA and FIBA, could turn into the European NBA division. According to the source, this competition would be the fifth tournament under the auspices of the NBA, including the league itself, the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA), the NBA G-League and the African Basketball League. These rumors were later denied.

In the meantime, reforms are being prepared in other club tournaments. In May, the Greek portal SDNA claimed that the Euroleague could expand from the current 18 to 24 clubs. According to the project, an additional six teams will move to the Euroleague from the new competition. It is formed as a result of the unification of the Champions League and the Eurocup (the second most important European tournament) under the auspices of FIBA. Competitions can be held in a new format next year.

Additional hopes for Bodiroga are also placed in Russia - in view of the suspension of VTB United League clubs from playing in the Euroleague.

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