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EuroLeague 26/06/2018, 16.54

The EuroLeague Players Association has been officially founded

At today's General Assembly in Barcelona the first union of basketball players competing in EuroLeague – The EuroLeague Players Association (ELPA) was established officially and Luigi Datome was elected as its president

EuroLeague
Players’ representatives confirmed the Statutes of the association, formed the Players’ Board, elected its President, 1st Vice President and 3 Vice Presidents and appointed the Managing Director of ELPA.
Luigi Datome has been elected as the President of ELPA for the next three years, Kyle Hinesas a 1st Vice President for a term of two years and Derrick Brown, Marcelo Huertas andTornike Shengelia as 3 Vice Presidents for a term of 2 years.

The Players’ Board appointed former EuroLeague player Bostjan Nachbar as the Managing Director of ELPA with full authority subject to annual budget approval by the Players’ Board. Nachbar appointed Anze Blazic as the Secretary General of the association. Both have been involved in the foundation of ELPA in the last couple of months, with Nachbar being the initiator of the project.

Furthermore, the goals for the 2018/19 season were presented and confirmed. Besides the constitution of ELPA, they are mostly aiming for financial stability and good cooperation between and for the benefit of all EuroLeague players in the association and with the aim to adopt a Collective bargaining agreement in the near future. Representatives of ELPA will visit all the clubs and will meet with all the players, prepare solutions for 2019/20 and in order to promote ELPA and basketball in general will organize at least one event, focusing on young basketball players and charity.

Luigi Datome, president of ELPA:
“I’m very happy and honored to become the president od ELPA and I would like to thank the guys who elected me. The meeting was very productive, we had a lot of ideas in order to have better seasons and better careers. We want to help each other, we want to have an union of common voice so a lot of good things are going to happen. I’m very glad to be a part of this.”

Kyle Hines, 1st vice president of ELPA:
“I’m honored and very happy to be elected as a 1st vice president of ELPA. We had a great meeting, we talked about a lot of important topics and it’s good to see all the great players coming together, uniting in one voice. I think It’s going to be a really great situation for all the players in EuroLeague and I’m really looking forward for this promising future. The work starts now and I’m looking forward for it on behalf of myself and all the other players.”

Bostjan Nachbar, Managing Director of ELPA:
“I’m very happy to be appointed as the Managing Director of ELPA, for me it’s a honor and big responsibility do to this role and it’s also a big challenge but I’m looking forward for it. The team will do absolutely everything we can to help and assist players in pursuing their goals on and off the court. The staff and people involved are up to the challenge, everybody is very motivated and ready to get this process started.”

About ELPA
ELPA will aim to assist, represent, and unite the players in achieving their goals, on and off the court. ELPA's specific intention is to defend and pursue the rights of professional basketball players in the EuroLeague. Through collective bargaining with Euroleague Basketball and the EuroLeague clubs, ELPA will seek to achieve a higher level of protection of players’ individual and collective rights and to improve the working conditions, economic benefits, and job security of all its members.
Furthermore, ELPA will engage in organizational, financial, educational, and marketing activities which will advance the economic stability and security of its members. Through charity and personal development programs, ELPA will strive to connect its members with the wider community.
The players expressed their strong support for the establishment of this very important entity, which seeks to represent the players' unified voice regarding Europe's top basketball club competition.
E. Carchia

E. Carchia

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