Overcoming the Corona Crisis – A comprehensive recovery concept for basketball clubs in Europe
As of today, it is still not clear when the corona crisis will be completely over and what the exact consequences will be. What is certain though is the fact that many things in our lives have already changed and will most likely continue to change in the future. Many behaviors and/or actions that were deemed strange und unsocial might become the new normal. Similar epidemics/pandemics might arise more often in the future. All these changes will most likely have a significant impact on how professional sports will be “produced” and “consumed” in the future, too. It is also very likely that these challenges could not be tackled with methods that were applied in the past, but rather will require new and smarter solutions.
Effective financial management and operating on a self-sustaining model will become more important than ever, as companies’ budgets will get tighter due to even higher pressure on results (in the short run triggered by the corona crisis) and it will get more difficult to find sponsors and/or shareholders who keep “injecting” money into basketball without having any expectations with regard to return in investment (in financial terms). If clubs and other stakeholders do not take necessary measures and adapt, they will not be able to survive in the future. Basketball managers should get more agile, versatile and knowledgeable to be able to address future challenges of European basketball. This document is meant to make a small contribution to this (obligatory) change process.
You can download the report via this link.
FIBA vs Euroleague – What is in the best interest of European Basketball?
Even if the current dispute seems to be focused on the national team calendar, essentially it is about the governance model of European Basketball, i.e. who is in charge of managing the European Basketball, scheduling the games, running the top competition, setting the rules of “(the business of) basketball”, in summary who sets the tone for the highest level (club) competition in Europe. The aim of this report is to take an objective look at the current situation from a more holistic perspective and take into consideration the interests of all key stakeholders, i.e. not only top clubs, but also all other clubs participating domestic leagues, local federations, sponsors, athletes, referees, managers etc.
You can download the report via this link.
Spanish daily sports newspaper, Mundo Deportivo and Europe’s leading basketball news portal Eurohoops have also reported about this study.
Players Agents in European Basketball – Current Challenges and Improvement Suggestions
There has been a great deal of criticism and a public perception that the behavior of (some of) the agents is excessively unethical. In addition, sports agency is a field in which outsiders perceive there is a quick and easy money to be made. And more recently, market concentration trends in this field have been causing some serious concerns with regard to (possible) conflicts of interest. The purpose of this study is to objectively analyze the current issues in the European basketball market and present suggestions for improvement.
Youth Development Analysis & Survey – Key Success Factors for Junior-to-Senior Transition in European Basketball
The main objectives of this study are to (i) analyze the effectiveness of the current youth development model in European basketball, (ii) create a higher visibility as to the main success/failure factors of transition from junior to senior (elite) level, (iii) identify the most significant challenges that the leading youth development programs are currently facing including the financial aspects and (iv) provide concrete suggestions for improvement to ensure a more sustainable youth development model in Europe. In its first part, the study focuses on the detailed analysis of U16, U18 and U20 European Championships (Final Round/A Division) from different perspectives. The overall objective is to identify certain (quantitative/objective) characteristics, common factors and/or patterns (if any) that the successful national teams (might) demonstrate in terms of winning titles at junior level, and (more importantly) “producing” elite basketball players for the highest competition levels. The second part of the study consists of interviews (and their evaluations) with players which focus on determining the key success factors for the junior-to-senior elite level transition.
European Basketball Club Management Survey (currently in progress)
This survey aims at gaining objective insights into the current situation of club management in European Basketball including strategic, financial and managerial/organizational aspects.
Critical Review of Euroleague’s Financial Stability and Fair Play Rules
In an effort to improve the financial stability of the clubs participating the Euroleague competition as well as ensure comparability of financial statements of the clubs, Euroleague introduced a new set of rules effective as of the 2015/16 season. This report takes a critical look at the details of the rules and assesses their effectiveness for achieving the stated objectives.
German BBL Club Licensing System
German clubs licensing system has its roots in 1960s (initially starting in football) which is based on some important pillars such as sportive qualification/success, robust financial basis including a no-debt and break-even requirements, organizational and infrastructure related rules and some formal requirements such as submission of (audited) financial statements and documents. The report deals with the question as to whether this concept can be a good model for other European leagues.
Youth Development in Turkish Basketball
In recent years the Turkish junior national teams (U16, U18 and U20) have been very successful at international tournaments (both at European and Global level) showing up in medal-winning ranks whereas the latest similar success of the A national team goes back to 2010 (World Cup in Turkey) demonstrating a much rarer achievement. This report provides an objective analysis of the possible root causes for the gap between the pretty dominant success record of talented young players at junior levels and poor senior national team performance. It also delivers clear action items that can be applied by the decision-makers to mitigate this adverse trend.
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