By the Eurohoops team/ [email protected]
The new EuroLeague management met with ELPA player representatives from every EuroLeague club, setting the stage for the upcoming season.
Meanwhile, a special One Team Global Ambassador award was presented to EA7 Emporio Armani Milan veteran Kyle Hines during Monday’s meeting at the league headquarters in Barcelona for his contribution to the One Team social programme.
According to the press release: The annual ELPA Player Representative Meeting was held in Barcelona on Tuesday to bring together Euroleague Basketball leaders and protagonists from Turkish Airlines’ 18 EuroLeague clubs around the many initiatives underway to build momentum and community profile of the continent’s top competition over the upcoming 2022 -23 season.
New Euroleague Basketball President Dejan Bodiroga and CEO Marshall Glickman opened Tuesday’s meetings with a discussion of ways to work together to improve the league’s position, strengthen basketball’s place in the entertainment market and have an even greater positive impact on communities – all with the active participation and influence of players.
“After 22 years in which we have seen this league grow, now is the time to take it to the next level,” Bodiroga told the players. “It’s a fresh start and you are an essential part of the future development of the league. The players are the true protagonists of the game and we will continue to work to raise your profile, on and off the pitch. I want to wishing you and all your teammates a healthy and successful season.
“The voice of the players should be the most important voice,” Glickman said. “It’s a league of players. That’s what people pay for, to come and see players. And it’s not just to see them play: they want to see and feel a connection with the players, and that’s really important.
Players were given a breakdown of the competition’s fan engagement via television, social media and digital avenues, indicating where the largest and most active fan bases are. This was followed by a discussion on branding, business and social media strategies, including an exchange of ideas on how to improve communication between league players or audiovisual content, among others, after whereupon they reviewed a report that examined medical services across the league and its concussion protocol.
“This meeting is really great. We brought together a lot of ideas, different minds, to take the next step and make basketball more popular in Europe,” said Ismet Akpinar of Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul. It’s something that I really like, that the players have an influence on our own future. There are already ideas in the works that I hadn’t even thought of. So many creative things to take a new step in the digital world or, as I said, the influence of basketball in Europe and in the world. This meeting is a step in the right direction and I really like the ideas here.
During a session titled “Planet: How I Can Be a Relevant Voice”, players learned about Euroleague Basketball’s sustainability plan and learned about the opportunity for players to become sustainability advocates . They discussed the importance of players joining as ambassadors for the climate efforts that Euroleague Basketball and its partners are developing. Each participant was asked to measure their carbon footprint, choose a sustainable development goal and commit to having a positive impact in this area.
“All basketball players in Europe want to play in the EuroLeague, so we have to understand the situation we find ourselves in,” said Valencia Basket goalkeeper Martin Herrmannsson. “We are blessed and happy to be in this situation and we have to take advantage of this opportunity. I think all the players are ready to do anything to help society. Some guys like it better to be in the spotlight and to others don’t like it, but we have to work together. The players present at this meeting have the same objective: to develop the EuroLeague and improve it as a brand.
