Celebrate a historic 2023 and predict a successful Olympic 2024
BARCELONA, 7 Dic. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The general secretary of FIBA, the Greek Andreas Zagklis, assured that a “historic” year 2023 is closing for world basketball and, on the fifth anniversary of his arrival in office, he assured that the world entity will continue working to, among other things, The Paris 2024 Olympic Games are a success and the conditions for the players are improved, such as achieving a calendar that does not overlap with other competitions such as the Euroleague.
On the fifth anniversary of his election as head of FIBA, Zagklis appeared before the world press to review 2023 and talk about the challenges of next year, such as the relationship with the new Euroleague and the common goal, not always easy to achieve. achieve, to have a less busy and more favorable calendar for the players.
“One of FIBA's priorities is the well-being of the players. Therefore, to the improvements experienced in the World Cup we must add the expansion of the next championships to reduce 'back to back' or consecutive matches until they are eradicated. of FIBA competitions at the express wish of the protagonists of our sport,” he said.
And regarding the relationship with the EuroLeague, with which he admitted that he continues to collaborate, he assured that they are working to ensure that the calendars “do not overlap.” “The conversations over the last few months have not been easy due to the internal changes in the EuroLeague, but they have been constructive. At the moment, steps have been taken such as the temporary unification of the November and February windows, but there are other major issues that we must address. keep talking,” he added.
The lawyer and leader wanted to talk about the Paris 2024 Olympic event, with the premiere of 3×3 basketball as a great novelty in a “spectacular setting” at the Place de la Concorde. “It will accommodate a new discipline like 3×3 that is surpassing many federations of other sports in participation and monitoring,” he analyzed.
The Spanish quota was the Pre-Olympic tournament that Valencia will host, in both categories, since for Zagklis it will be one of the “great moments of 2024” prior to the Olympic event, where Spain will participate in Sopron in the women's category for its place in Paris 2024 and in La Fontenta, in June, in the men's category.
On the other hand, regarding the nationalized players in the national teams, he assured that the quota will not be reduced but that it will not increase either. “The rule has worked. It is difficult to maintain a balance between what is appropriate when the objective is to improve the national team, which represents basketball in a country. But on this the Central Board is clear, there can only be one naturalized player per team and The eligibility criterion is the passport, and if you have it after the age of 16, you have to see the roots and connections with the country and if they do not exist, you go to the category of naturalized player. We have received many requests in both directions depending on the case. , but the Central Board is clear that the number of players will not increase, but neither will it reduce,” he said.
Of this 2023, he highlighted the great impact that the 2023 World Cup had. “It had a spectacular sporting result, with a historical record of fans, impact on broadcasts and social networks, doubling the impressions of 2019 with more than 10 billion and an 'engagement' of 260 million with growth and impacts among fans never seen before,” he said.
“It is the end of a year that saw FIBA and our sport grow and grow at a pace that can make us all happy. The World Cup showed the growth of many players with wonderful performances, high earnings and high-level performances of the best players in the world,” he said.