British Basketball Federation Chairman Pens Open Letter on New Governance Structure

By Sam Neter on November 10, 2014

British Basketball Federation Chairman, Bill McInnes, has penned an open letter announcing major changes for the organisation expected to be implemented in the coming months.

Following on from Sport England’s £1.18million rescue package for British Basketball that was announced last week, and Basketball Wales re-committing to the programme, the federation will be putting a new governance structure in place, which includes a new Independent Chair and three new Independent Directors who will work with in collaboration with all three home nations to push the sport forward.

The new Board will have its performance evaluated annually to ensure accountability and effectiveness. British Basketball aims to have the new structure in place by the end of 2014, and will continue to work towards a single FIBA membership from 2016, which will see the end of individual home nation national teams.

The full letter reads as follows:

“Since its formation in 2006 to enable Great Britain teams to compete in FIBA and FIBA Europe international competitions, British Basketball has delivered significant progress on the court as evidenced by an unprecedented six appearances in European Championship finals by the GB men and women, first time appearances in A Division, medals at age group levels and our significant climb in world rankings during that time. Our new vision is to build on this progress and win medals at major championships within ten years. To achieve this, British Basketball teams will need to consistently compete at the world class level through the continuous growth and improvement of all aspects of basketball across all three Home Nations.

“Over the past 12 months, with the full support of the world governing body FIBA, the basketball associations of Wales, Scotland and England have been working together to create a sustainable governance structure in which Great Britain teams can flourish and all three nations can work together towards delivering this shared vision for British Basketball. With the Basketball Wales decision to commit to this new structure, all the pieces are now in place for British Basketball to move forward as one.

“In order to achieve this we are implementing a new, simplified governance structure and recruiting a new British Board of Directors with a diverse mix of business and sporting expertise to make basketball sustainable in Britain and fulfill its potential. This new Board will work in collaboration with all three Home Nations, who will continue to develop the sport in their territories in line with a shared British strategy. The new Board will have its performance evaluated annually to ensure its accountability and effectiveness. With Wales now fully committed, it is our aim to implement the new structure by the end of 2014 to maintain progress to single FIBA membership in 2016.

“Over the next few months, British Basketball will be seeking to recruit a new Independent Chair and three new Independent Directors who can contribute to the strategic direction of the sport. These posts will be recruited by an open application process.

“British Basketball is excited to be launching its new goals and determined to deliver an inspirational and sustainable delivery plan for basketball in Britain which will lead the sport into its next stage of development.”

– Bill McInnes OBE Chairman, British Basketball Federation.

Thoughts?

Do you like our work?

We have a tiny favour to ask. In 2018 we set out to make Hoopsfix sustainable by building our relationship directly with our readers. Up until now, Hoopsfix has been creating editorials, videos and podcasts to provide sorely missing coverage of the British game and its distinct culture and community.

We have funded Hoopsfix with our freelance work creating basketball media, but sadly that means not only does it fall behind our client’s priorities, but some of those clients are the same organisations we need to report objectively on putting us in a conflicted position.

We want to devote more time to our mission of helping British basketball reach its potential, and produce even more content for the basketball community by making Hoopsfix a sustainable 100% independent business funded directly by our readers through Patreon.

If everyone who enjoys our content chose to support us, our future would be much more secure. For as little as $3 per month, you can support Hoopsfix – and it only takes a minute.

We are tremendously honoured and humbled to have a community of people who value what we do, and we look forward to being at the forefront of the British game as it continues to evolve.

Support Hoopsfix