EB Have No Immediate Plans To Move Away from Physical License Cards, Believe System Works

England Basketball have no intentions of changing the current system that requires national league teams to show physical license cards for all their registered players before a game, despite the Division 1 Men’s title being decided through a team forgetting their licenses and forfeiting last week.

Reading Rockets claimed the 2014 league championship after Essex Leopards showed up to play NASSA without their license cards and were forced to forfeit 20-0 on Thursday.

Leopards did have a slim shot at winning the league; they would’ve needed to win all their remaining games and Reading, who are injury ravaged at the moment, lose all of theirs, but they fell at the first hurdle by forgetting their license cards.

It is the second time a league title has been decided by an administrative error over the past three seasons; in Women’s Division 1, in 2011-12, Sheffield forfeited a game for the same reason and UWIC ended up winning the league.

Despite championships being decided by forgetting license cards as opposed to actual real basketball games taking place, the national governing body does not believe it to be an issue.

“There are no plans to change the current system in the immediate future,” said England Basketball’s National Leagues Officer Nicky Brown. “However, we’re always investigating our options for change, considering developments on digital platforms and in modern technology.

“We have to be mindful that a process always has to be in place to prevent ineligible players and coaches competing in games.

“For now, the membership / licence card system works. During the next 12-24 months we will be looking at ways to prevent the situation that happened at the Leopards game last night happening again.

“Whatever system we do put in place the possibility of error is always there.”

Thoughts?