Jordi Bertomeu on Euroleague new format, "war" with FIBA and European Union's verdict
Bertomeu: What FIBA did in the last 6-7 months is unacceptable
Euroleague CEO and president Jordi Bertomeu spoke with Massimo Oriani of La Gazzetta dello Sport about the new Euroleague season that is going to start today with the game between Real Madrid and Olympiacos.
NEW FORMAT
I can’t say that in 10 years the format will be the same. We’ll see but for sure we won’t step back. I can’t also say that 16 teams are the right number. We may have 24 teams in the future. There are some clubs with the potential to enter in Euroleague. The development of the new Euroleague project is more about the possibility of adding new teams than on the format.
FIBA
Fida decided to take something that they have not been able to build on their own. Without a plan but with authority. If you say that you are a defender of the sports value and you behave like this, your position becomes even deeper. What FIBA did in the last 6-7 months is unacceptable. You cannot threaten to remove the Olympic Qualifying Tournament from the hosting cities or disqualify the clubs.
EUROPEAN UNION
The judgement of the European Union is coming within a few weeks. They are not sports experts and they wanted to study the case in all its details. I hope it will be favorable for us and the clubs will be able to choose the Cups they want to play.
NEW FORMAT
I can’t say that in 10 years the format will be the same. We’ll see but for sure we won’t step back. I can’t also say that 16 teams are the right number. We may have 24 teams in the future. There are some clubs with the potential to enter in Euroleague. The development of the new Euroleague project is more about the possibility of adding new teams than on the format.
FIBA
Fida decided to take something that they have not been able to build on their own. Without a plan but with authority. If you say that you are a defender of the sports value and you behave like this, your position becomes even deeper. What FIBA did in the last 6-7 months is unacceptable. You cannot threaten to remove the Olympic Qualifying Tournament from the hosting cities or disqualify the clubs.
EUROPEAN UNION
The judgement of the European Union is coming within a few weeks. They are not sports experts and they wanted to study the case in all its details. I hope it will be favorable for us and the clubs will be able to choose the Cups they want to play.
E. Carchia
@Sportando
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