ELPA player representatives meet with Euroleague Basketball executives

The annual EuroLeague ELPA Player Representatives Meeting took place in Barcelona on Thursday, bringing one player from each Turkish Airlines EuroLeague club together with Euroleague Basketball executives to discuss relevant issues ahead of the new season. Held at Euroleague Basketball headquarters, the meeting offered an opportunity to show players the direction the competition is heading for in the 2023-24 season and beyond.

Euroleague Basketball President Dejan Bodiroga was the first person to take the floor, welcoming everyone to the meeting.

"It is no secret that last season was one to remember," Bodiroga said. "More fans than ever filled our arenas, more eyeballs than ever watched our games and the content around them on television and digital platforms. On the court, you delivered a top-class experience with what was arguably the most competitive season in EuroLeague history.

"We want to listen to all your ideas and thoughts. We want to help you about any doubt you may have and we want to support you with your initiatives, because players are the true protagonists of the game and your opinion matters. I wish you all a successful and healthy season."

Euroleague Basketball sports director Ibrahim Erkan addressed players about the biggest change in the competition system: the Play-in Tournament, set to take place after the regular season and before the playoffs. He also talked about calendar rules and how double rounds are set to avoid games on consecutive days, among other restrictions.

It was the first meeting of this kind for new Officiating Director Daniel Hierrezuelo, who introduced a couple of new features to help players before and during the season. A number of referees will meet with all EuroLeague and BKT EuroCup teams before the season starts to make sure everyone is in the same page. Another new feature is that referees and team captains will briefly meet on the court before each and every EuroLeague game. In those meetings, questions about rules and any other pertinent information may be covered, and players will be reminded to play within the spirit of the rules and with appropriate sportsmanlike behavior.

"Probably some of you are happy because you are not meeting me on the court, but this is understandable," Hierrezuelo, who recently retired from refereeing, joked in his presentation. "I just arrived three months ago but I will put all of my effort to teaching my partners in a good way to help you, on and off the court. Please don't hesitate to contact us if you have any problems of any kind."

The players received a breakdown of the competition's fan engagement through television, social media and digital avenues, showing where the largest and most active fan bases are, and in which countries' TV audience and online viewers are growing. This was followed by a presentation on how fan growth and interest in the EuroLeague has developed in the last five seasons, with all-time records being broken in attendance and social media hits.

Also discussed was how EuroLeague is making an effort to put players in the forefront, offering a high-quality platform to promote them. A Quarter with Kyle Hines and The Player's View with Jake Cohen and Michael Roll were some of the examples. Cohen and Hines were present in the meeting, representing Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv and EA7 Emporio Armani Milan, respectively.

"I think Euroleague has done a great job of doing this and including the players and making the players feel like their voices are able to be heard," Hines said. "The meeting with the referees is very important because we are all on the court at the same time. So I think the relationship that we have with each other, it will help improve the game, help improve the overall performance of the game, the appearance of the game. So it's very important that we are able to establish this connection with the referees."

Euroleague Basketball also wanted to emphasize and reinforce its commitment to maintain the integrity of its competitions, and gave players instructions on what to do if they suspect integrity is being compromised.

"I have been to a few of these [meetings] now and it's great to see the progress that the league has made, and I think it's because of the cooperation of all the people involved," Cohen said. "I think it's a big reason why the EuroLeague has progressed the last few years; the participation, the cooperation of all the parties involved, between the league, the teams, the players and the fans. When we all get together try to work for something better, it's great what we can do."