FIBA Secretary General Patrick Baumann feels there is still work for GB to do
FIBA Secretary General Patrick Baumann has described Great Britain’s qualification for Eurobasket 2011 as a “substantial step” in getting their place at the London 2012 Olympics but made it clear there is still work to be done by British Performance Basketball to secure that much coveted spot.
Speaking at a press conference prior to the start of the world championships in Turkey on Saturday, Baumann said:
“On a sporting standpoint, that’s great (their qualification), I think this is a substantial step for the Olympic dream. On the other hand, it has to carry on the Monday when the Olympics are over.
“I now think it’s a matter for those who run basketball in the UK to argue, to discuss how to make the sport a success, how they are going to move forward after the Olympics (so) that the funding won’t stop, that the whole GB team won’t disappear.”
A final decision on the Olympics from FIBA is now not expected until next year and may not come until the Autumn, although it is likely to be made prior to the men’s EuroBasket in Lithuania in September.
Thoughts?
Isn’t it clear to FIBA that they would be doing a lot more damage to the legacy of basketball in this country by not including us at London 2012?! They need to lay out the guidelines and make it CLEAR what markers we need to hit rather than constantly moving the goalposts. What do you think about all of this? Drop a comment below and let me know!
Related posts:
- Video: GB Basketball 2012 Olympic Decision Press Conference
- Watch the GB Basketball Olympic Decision Live
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- FIBA Secretary General Urges GB To Continue Funding Basketball After 2012
- Telegraph Examines Olympic ‘Plastic Brits’
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{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
I thought all we had to do was qualify?! So now we have to basically prove that we “love” the game enough as well as being good enough at it. This is too unfair
Look i think FIBA are right in what they are saying because if they allow team GB into the London 2012 who is to say after the Olympics that money wont stop being put into UK basketball. I think that from when the BBL stopped putting money into their own league and BBL teams started playing home games out of schools and leisure centers and not at arenas any more that was when FIBA thought that the UK never respected there sport.
What are you on about BBL teams playing in schools and leisure centres? Have you any idea how much the Arenas cost? Where else are they going to play – or EBL teams for that matter.
Those very same teams are running a significant number of junior clubs and lower level national league teams, underpinning the whole sport.
The real problem is the poor level of support from Sport England compared to other sports – Rugby £25 million, Rugby League £37 million, cricket £30 million, netball £17 million ….. basketball £8 million – and this is a 400% raise!
Remember to that rugby and crickets governing bodies give their premier club sides over £1 million a year each every year.
“it has to carry on the Monday when the Olympics are over.” – I agree totally.
“how they are going to move forward after the Olympics (so) that the funding won’t stop, that the whole GB team won’t disappear.” – Also agree.
These are the things at the moment are the largest problems. Team GB’s talent isn’t under scrutiny, and never has been. It is the Sports Council that has made the growth of the sport so hard. The next campaign from BBB needs to be to them. We have a fan base now we need co-operation of our national sports governing bodies.
If u look all over Europe why is it that in the UK were it is seen as the top country in the whole of Europe we have the worst league that is at the bottom were as in the rest of Europe they are developing their leagues making them better while the UK continues to do nothing all our best players have to play away from this country to make something of themselves the last place any Uk baller is thinking about playing is not in the UK but any were away from it. Even if the play in the Ukraine it a good look.
I agree with FIBA as well, if you look at basketball in the UK as a whole, it’s not that great, BBL teams have disappeared and funding hasn’t been the best or most stable, just look at what happened to London Towers, which used to be one of the best teams and even had Haribo adverts on TV.
As much as it would be great for us to qualify, it’s not going to make a difference if things aren’t changed at the grass roots to develop players and our league.
People,
How can we say playing in the 2012 Olympic Games isn’t going make a difference to basketball here, grassroots and otherwise. It could be MASSIVE for it!! I completely agree that GB and England Basketball have to have the right system in place but if it is done right then England could ride the wave of the 2012 games to really making something of basketball in this country.
Look at how participation in Cricket went up a few years ago when England beat Australia in the ashes (under Vaughn), and that was something small, this is the OLYMPICS its HUGE!!!
Basketball hasn’t had this kind of world class event, that will be thrust into people’s faces, before…..the top basketball in the world will be on our doorsteps, it will be all over the news and if done right could make people really aware of how great the game is to watch and play…possibilities are endless!!!!!
For FIBA to not allow GB to play would be a devastating for basketball here.
for fiba to allow to gb to play without cast iron guarantees of continued commitment to the sport (beyond a government subsidy which will undoubtedly disappear after 2012) would be just as devastating.
too may people get confused as to what exactly demostrates the success of the sport. Having an haribo advert on television is irrelevant. Similarly talk of problems with grassroots is a misnomer. The work EB have done in conjunction with BBL clubs over the past 5 years means that the grassroots are actually more healthy than they have been in living memory. membership, refereeing and coaching numbers are all up.
The problems are twofold :
1. venues
2. pan european competitiveness
1. venues :
a) practice venues whilst clubs have to pay through the nose for playing at practice venues and kids clubs have to pay £40 per hour to pay back all the sports halls built on pfi the sport is suffering from a financial burden it cannot possibly defeat.
b) competitive venues : the lack of appropriate council supported spectator friendly indoor venues in this country is scandalous. European teams do not pay for their venues, they are gifted to them by the local authorities as the sport provides civic pride. in comparison look at what happened in milton Keynes or indeed Birmingham. This is not a problem which the sport of basketball can solve, but it is a problem which means that many clubs work with both arms and legs tied behind their backs.
THE MAJOR ACTION THAT WOULD DEMONSTRATE TO ME THE SERIOUSNESS OF BPB OR THE GOVERNMENT OR WHOEVER TO CONTINUE TO SUPPORT BASKETBALL IN THIS COUNTRY AFTER 2012 WOULD BE TO SIT DOWN WITH EVERY BBL AND POTENTIAL BBL CLUB AND WORK OUT A PLAN TO DEVELOP A 1500 SEATER BASKETBALL SPECIFIC VENUE IN THEIR LOCALITY IN THE NEXT 5 YEARS (be it assisting in links with further education ie Newcastle Eagles and Northumbria or higher education or local government). Thats where some of the money should be going, identifying sites, locations and putting together architects packages and planning applications. In return BPB/EB the government would demand an inclusive youth development program with all the social and medical benefits that would bring.
2. Pan european competitiveness : the poster above who talked of the BBL clubs stopping investing in their own league by moving out of arenas is dead wrong. The clubs stopped throwing money away that they didnt have. They tried speculating to accumulate and it ended up in financial ruin. Instead they invested in the grass roots/hoops4 health programs. That was the only way in the current marketplace that a professional league could survive in this country.
It is a fact that no English club that has played in Europe continues to exist. (Heat went bankrupt and reformed).
To be able to compete in european competition the question of finance raises its head again. A contingency fund of 50k should be set up by BPB/EB to underwrite the costs of a British club playing in europe (not playing costs, just to cover travel, hotels, expenses etc). That would allow clubs to dip their toes in the water without jeopardising their entire existence whcih would allow our sport to gain respect in europe year on year.
and thats just for starters!
Some interesting views and opinions.
The grassroots is better than before. However the exit route for players to continue to develop in this country, is poor. Like it was said in a previous post, players have to move abroad to continue to develop, whether thats in US high schools/colleges or European Academies and then go on to play professionally in other countries also. This hurts us a great deal because fans will continue to support homegorwn talent or players that will stay around for more than one year. Hence why Newcastle has been so successful throughout the last decade. They have a nucleus of english talent that have been there for a long time. Please undertsnd I’m not hating on players that stay for one year and go play for a bigger pay check somewhere else, because every player deserves to be rewarded appropiately for their talents. Having a good American player playing here for one year or two may be a good thing for a short period of time hurts us in the long run.
Also I think people need to work together more. A few years ago there was talk of A.C. Green coming on board with the BBL and then there was talk of another pro league entirely called the BBA. I dnt think thats the way to go. I think the BBA and the BBL need to talk and put their plans and money together, that would make more sense. Also Midnightmadness showcase the best young players in this country every year, BBL teams should be present at these events so they can keep an eye on what this country has to offer.
Every single comment that people have said is bang on point in some way but we have to also make sure that the coaching of our young players needs to be on par with our European rivals at
ALL levels to ensure that we produce quality players that will make all our leagues better. It’s not just providing facilities and reduced court fees!
This is one opportunity that we cannot afford to mess up so I firmly agree with what fiba are doing as I feel that this kind of pressure will force the powers that be to finally get things right and move our sport forward.