The smell of the new season was in the air over the weekend in the capital of Lithuania, which hosted the 28th Clinic for Euroleague Basketball Officials. The annual event brought together the 71 referees who will officiate games in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and the 7DAYS EuroCup this season with 16 referee coaches and a host of league officials and special guests to prepare for the coming season.  

EB referees use clinic to gear up for season

The smell of the new season was in the air over the weekend in the capital of Lithuania, which hosted the 28th Clinic for Euroleague Basketball Officials. The annual event brought together the 71 referees who will officiate games in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and the 7DAYS EuroCup this season with 16 referee coaches and a host of league officials and special guests to prepare for the coming season.  

Real Madrid head coach Pablo Laso; Monty McCutchen, the NBA's Vice President, Head of Referee Development and Training; and Scott Butler, the Head of Referees in Australia's NBL, all joined Richard Stokes Euroleague Basketball’s Senior Director of Officiating, in sharing insights and guidelines for the new season with the officials.  

The weekend in Vilnius saw the referees undergo independent physical examinations to ensure that every official was in peak form before the first whistles are blown for the 2019-20 campaigns. Topics addressed included fitness and training issues by the medical support staff as well as presentation and court presence led by veteran official Olegs Latisevs. In addition, the points of emphasis discussed with EuroLeague and EuroCup head coaches earlier in the summer were presented to the referees and referees coaches who will support them this season including faking and flopping, behavior, violations, contact situations and mechanics by Richard Stokes. There were also sessions related to matters of instant replay and communication conducted by Euroleague Basketball staff members.

"It was a pleasure to be involved in the referees' preparation for the forthcoming season," McCutchen said. "Their professionalism and commitment to serve the game at the highest level was evident throughout the meeting, as well as their desire to grow. Personally, it was a joy for me to work with this group in Vilnius and I look forward to doing so again."

Iztok Rems, the ABA League's Commissioner for Delegating Referees; Algimantas Pavilonis, the Head of Referees for Lietuvos Krepsinio Lyga; Boris Schmidt, the Head of Referees in the easyCredit Basketball Bundesliga; and Tomasz Kudlicki, the Polish Basketball League's Referees and Commissioners Manager, attended the clinic as well.

"We have had a good start to our season with both the people that were able to be with our officials and the guidelines and expectations that were discussed," Stokes said. "It is so important that we are all on the same page with a clear vision of how we need to work each season and our work with the head coaches and now the referees completes the process to begin what I am sure will be both a challenging and exciting season ahead of us."

The Finance Panel has rendered its decision on the proceeding that was opened against Olympiacos Piraeus last May regarding the consideration of overdue payables.

Finance Panel decision on Olympiacos Piraeus proceeding

The Finance Panel has rendered its decision on the proceeding that was opened against Olympiacos Piraeus last May regarding the consideration of overdue payables.

On May 27, the Euroleague Basketball Management Control Commission (MCC) referred to the Finance Panel the opening of an adjudicatory proceeding against Olympiacos Piraeus which resulted in the Financial Panel acknowledging the existence of overdue payables.

The MCC has been monitoring the fulfilment of settlement agreements with the players, and certified that the overdue payables that originated the opening of the proceeding have been settled.

Novasports, the long-time rights holder for Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and 7DAYS EuroCup games in Greece and Cyprus, will remain the home for Europe's premier basketball competitions well into the next decade after signing a three-year contract extension.

Novasports remains Greek home of Euroleague Basketball through 2023

Novasports, the long-time rights holder for Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and 7DAYS EuroCup games in Greece and Cyprus, will remain the home for Europe's premier basketball competitions well into the next decade after signing a three-year contract extension.

Novasports had one more year of broadcasting rights on its previous contract, and so with the new deal will be showing games through the end of the 2022-23 season. Novasports, which is available exclusively through the top provider of bundled home entertainment and communication services in Greece, Nova, has partnered with Euroleague Basketball for nearly two decades.

"Novasports continue to meet the highest standards in broadcasting and to provide basketball fans a spectacular viewing experience," Jordi Bertomeu, Euroleague Basketball President and CEO, said. "We are greatly pleased to have had such a long and fruitful relationship with Novasports and we are even more delighted to know that we can count on them as our partner for three more years."

On behalf of Nova, Ms. Katerina Kaskanioti, Pay TV Executive Director, stated: "Having worked closely with Euroleague for many years and having experienced the powerful spirit and the constant innovation of the top European basketball competition, this feels like a very natural partnership. We keep our promise to offer premium content that our customers value. Therefore, not only do we remain the home of Euroleague, but also the home of the most relevant content in terms of sports, top-quality movies, series and entertainment for the Greek audience."

Greek fans are passionate about basketball, and with two EuroLeague teams, Panathinaikos OPAP Athens and Olympiacos Piraeus, Novasports has been the go-to network for all the best basketball from Greece. With Promitheas Patras in the EuroCup this season, Novasports viewers can count on having up to four nights every week with live EuroLeague and EuroCup action during the season.

Euroleague Basketball is pleased to welcome four new referees who have been selected to officiate games in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and 7DAYS EuroCup for the 2019-20 season. Sebastian Clivaz, Denis Hadzic, Artem Lavrukhin and Vasiliki Tsaroucha all have previous experience at the highest levels in their countries of origin and will be valuable additions to the slate of Euroleague Basketball referees.

Euroleague Basketball adds four referees for 2019-20

Euroleague Basketball is pleased to welcome four new referees who have been selected to officiate games in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and 7DAYS EuroCup for the 2019-20 season. Sebastian Clivaz, Denis Hadzic, Artem Lavrukhin and Vasiliki Tsaroucha all have previous experience at the highest levels in their countries of origin and will be valuable additions to the slate of Euroleague Basketball referees.

Clivaz has been an international referee since 2011 and is considered to be among the premier referees in his native Switzerland. He has been a part of the Swiss League playoffs every season since 2007 and has worked eight of the past 10 Swiss Cup finals.

Hadzic, who played for Croatian club Pula 1981 in his youth, became a referee in 2000. He began calling games in the top Croatian League in 2008 and started refereeing in the Adriatic League in 2017.

Tsaroucha had a 22-year playing career, which also saw her represent the Greek national team in the Mediterranean Games. After she embarked on her officiating career, she received her international credentials in 2013. Tsaroucha has worked in the top men's league in Greece since 2014. She has officiated at the last three EuroLeague Women's Final Fours and also worked at the EuroBasket Women in 2017 and 2019.

Lavrukhin is, at age 26, one of the youngest referees to work in Euroleague Basketball competitions. He has experience in the Russian Federation SuperLeague First Division and worked the Russian Federation Cup final four in 2018. He has also officiated games in the VTB United Youth League and the Russian Federation women's Premier League.

These four will form part of the 71 referees in the Euroleague Basketball list who will officiate EuroLeague and EuroCup games in the 2019-20 season.

All twenty-four 7DAYS EuroCup Clubs were represented by executives in Barcelona, Spain to hear about recent developments in the competition and its future plans; as well as to share opinions and discuss key topics for building on the growth it has had over the past season. The recently approved improvement granting the EuroCup Champion as well Runner-Up access to the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (add hyperlink form yesterday’s release) as well as the opportunity for those clubs to continue in the EuroLeague competition based on sporting results from this season onwards was warmly welcomed by all attendees.

EuroCup Clubs meeting marks 2019-20 season start

All twenty-four 7DAYS EuroCup Clubs were represented by executives in Barcelona, Spain to hear about recent developments in the competition and its future plans; as well as to share opinions and discuss key topics for building on the growth it has had over the past season. The recently approved improvement granting the EuroCup Champion as well Runner-Up access to the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague (add hyperlink form yesterday’s release) as well as the opportunity for those clubs to continue in the EuroLeague competition based on sporting results from this season onwards was warmly welcomed by all attendees.

Attendees heard first from Euroleague Basketball a recap on audience numbers of the just finished 2018-19 season, with remarkable growth in attendance in digital, ranging from 5% to over 200% increases in different platforms.

EuroCup Clubs also:

- Heard the annual officiating department report.
- Reviewed progress on media rights distribution agreements, and welcomed the 2018-19 all-time record achieved with 18 platforms and 53 channels airing EuroCup games to 105 countries and territories, together with EuroLeague.tv making all games available across every corner of the world.
- Discussed proposed Bylaws modifications that aim at raising the standards of the competition, mirroring changes proposed in the EuroLeague.
- Reviewed the 2019-20 calendar.
- Reviewed the 2019-20 club economic distribution and its criteria.
- Heard an update on the introduction of Financial Stability & Fair Play Regulations starting in 2021-22.

For the first time in the history of the award, there is a repeat winner of the Gianluigi Porelli EuroLeague Executive of the Year. Euroleague Basketball is pleased to announce that for the second consecutive year, Zalgiris Kaunas president Paulius Motiejunas has been selected by his peers across the continent as the best executive of the just-completed Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season. With Motiejunas showing the way from behind the scenes, Zalgiris followed up its historic run to the 2018 Final Four by returning to the playoffs. Off the court, Zalgiris remains among the league leaders in ticket sales and revenue growth while boasting a legendary game-day experience at one of the finest arenas on the continent.

Gianluigi Porelli EuroLeague Executive of the Year: Paulius Motiejunas, Zalgiris Kaunas

For the first time in the history of the award, there is a repeat winner of the Gianluigi Porelli EuroLeague Executive of the Year. Euroleague Basketball is pleased to announce that for the second consecutive year, Zalgiris Kaunas president Paulius Motiejunas has been selected by his peers across the continent as the best executive of the just-completed Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season. With Motiejunas showing the way from behind the scenes, Zalgiris followed up its historic run to the 2018 Final Four by returning to the playoffs. Off the court, Zalgiris remains among the league leaders in ticket sales and revenue growth while boasting a legendary game-day experience at one of the finest arenas on the continent.

The Executive of the Year award honors the person and club whose management decisions have best exemplified the EuroLeague's commitment to excellence in all facets of club direction during the previous season. Among the categories considered before casting votes are sporting merits, game-day revenues, fan experience, and marketing and communications.

Motiejunas's brilliance has seen Zalgiris become and remain a EuroLeague contender despite its small-market status. He not only made the decision to first hire Sarunas Jasikevicius as an assistant coach and, in January 2016, to promote him to the head of the bench, but Motiejunas has made sure that Coach Saras has the tools to succeed. While leaning on some of the best and most-experienced Lithuanian players and consistently developing top young prospects from the country, Motiejunas has worked tirelessly with his staff to identify young, affordable foreign talents who can take their careers to the next level with Zalgiris.

Zalgiris was just as active off the court this season, launching a campaign to entice first-time ticket-buyers to get a taste of the incredible atmosphere at Zalgirio Arena. Called #ZalgirisVirgin (or #ManoPirmas in Lithuanian), the project started with a focus group discussion to pinpoint what reasons would motivate fans to attend a game for the first time. The results were analyzed and a wide range of communications and activities were developed to attract those first-timers to experience Zalgiris up close. By the end of the season, the club had recorded a historical league-record average attendance, including 10 sold-out games, and a club record in the percentage of fans attending the games for the first time. The campaign was recognized internationally and rewarded with Zalgiris winning the gold Devotion Marketing Award this week, as voted by the rest of the EuroLeague clubs.

A long-time Zalgiris executive, Motiejunas served the club in many different capacities before he became team president and owner; he was the director of communications and later general manager, among other positions. Motiejunas also manages the staff that runs Zalgirio Arena, which is both a top-level basketball facility and a money-making arena that serves the residents of Kaunas year-round with sporting events, concerts, shows and more. The success of the arena feeds directly into the coffers that help Zalgiris's basketball team continue to compete against the best in the game. Motiejunas is also a member of the board at Vytautas Magnus University, where he completed his education with a master's degree in international relations and where the EB Institute's MBA graduate program is now hosted. Motiejunas is a member of the three-year-old Euroleague Basketball Advisory Council, a think tank whose mission is to study and promote changes in basketball operations, rules and regulations to make the game better for Euroleague Basketball fans.

The Gianluigi Porelli EuroLeague Executive of the Year has been awarded annually since 2005 and is one of the competition's two annual post-season honors, along with the Alexander Gomelskiy Coach of the Year Trophy. The award recognizes those whose efforts build Turkish Airlines EuroLeague clubs into success stories. Mr. Porelli, who served as president of Virtus Bologna for more than two decades, was among the founders of ULEB and later its president. He passed away in 2009.

gianluigi-porelli-euroleague-executive-of-the-year-paulius-motiejunas-zalgiris-kaunas-2019

New EuroLeague license allocation criteria approved for 2020-21
ECA Shareholders met on Thursday, July 11 in Munich, Germany to review the progress of the competitions and to agree on key topics for its future.

ECA Shareholders Meeting officially tips off the 2019-20 season

New EuroLeague license allocation criteria approved for 2020-21

ECA Shareholders met on Thursday, July 11 in Munich, Germany to review the progress of the competitions and to agree on key topics for its future.

The meeting was opened by Euroleague Basketball’s President & CEO, Jordi Bertomeu, with the announcement of the club elected 2018-19 Gianluigi Porelli EuroLeague Executive of the Year, Paulius Motiejunas, President of Zalgiris Kaunas, who received the award for the second consecutive time.

Uli Hoeness, President of FC Bayern Munich then welcomed the ECA Shareholders to his club’s hometown.

"It is a pleasure and an honor to have the EuroLeague clubs for the first time in Munich today. It is incredible to be part of the EL board meeting," Mr. Hoeness said. "We are traditionally a football team, but as you well know, since eight years ago, we are also a basketball club and that has quickly become a big part of our identity. After the mandate of our club members in 2010 to create a professional and ambitious basketball team, this project started to grow, and we have seen a great spike in interest in basketball in Munich and in Germany. But at Bayern Munich we always have the ambition to evolve, and a clear example of our upcoming projects is the new arena. We want our fans to enjoy basketball – that's our goal."

The meeting continued with Euroleague Basketball executives providing club and domestic league representatives with an update on the main performance indicators, which yet again showed impressive growth, led by a remarkable rise in digital audience, which more than doubled compared to 2017-18.

Attendees also:

* Heard the officiating department report, including: communication and transparency protocols; the proposed number of referees on the Euroleague Basketball list; education and evaluation programs; as well as the instant replay system.

* Agreed on important improved working conditions for 2019-20 proposed by the different stakeholders unions:

					* EuroLeague Players Association (ELPA): approved proposals for the 2019-20 season calendar, neutral second medical opinion, overdue payments, practices, training camp conditions and travel.
					* EuroLeague Head Coaches Board (ELHCB): approved proposals on overdue payments, death and total permanent disability liquidation payments, as well as the introduction of a new Euroleague Basketball dispute resolution chamber.
					* Union of Euroleague Basketball Officials (UEBO): ratifies the final proposal from Euroleague Basketball to UEBO.

* Approved the companies' 2018-19 closing accounts and the 2019-20 budgets, as well as the new clubs' economic distribution amounts and criteria for the upcoming season, which increases over 16% compared to 2018-19.

* Approved proposed changes in the competition Bylaws, including game rule changes as proposed by the ECA Shareholders Executive Board.

* Approved new Financial Stability Fair Play Regulations, including: increased transparency mechanisms; improved club budgets valuation criteria; further progressive reduction in the maximum shareholders contribution allowed, reaching 40% in the 2022-23 season; and revised sanctions structure.

* Approved the implementation of an In-Arena Code of Conduct starting October 2019, applicable to all individuals in any given EuroLeague and EuroCup arena, to ensure a fun, welcoming, safe and enjoyable experience for all participants.

* Approved the proposed 2019-20 team lists for the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and the 7DAYS EuroCup.
 

ECA Shareholders also approved new EuroLeague Club Licensing Rules to be in force starting with the 2020-21 season. The new rules aim at providing clubs, independently of their territory of origin, with equal and clear opportunities of accessing the competition and opportunities to remain in it, concretely:

* Allocating two licenses from the EuroCup competition, for the Champion and Runner-Up.

* Substituting Domestic League access by three Associated Annual Wild Cards *.

* Removing the maximum limit of clubs per country.

* Of the two EuroCup clubs qualifying for the EuroLeague season, the one placed the highest in the standings at the end of that next EuroLeague season will remain in competition for the following season if it has reached the Playoffs**. Should this happen, access for the following season will be granted only to the EuroCup Champion.

* As a result, the eighteen licenses available for 2020-21 will be allocated as follows:

				* 11 Licensed Clubs
				* 2 Associated Wild Cards (ASVEL Villeurbanne, FC Bayern Munich)
				* 2 EuroCup licenses (Champion and Runner-Up)
				* 3 Associated Annual Wild Cards*
 

Additionally, attendees also agreed on maintaining the obligation of clubs to participate in their respective Domestic Leagues to be able to obtain a EuroLeague/EuroCup license, with exceptions only made by the ECA Shareholders Executive Board after the evaluation of a specific situation that may prevent a club from meeting this requirement.

* Adriatic League Champion to have priority for one of the three annual associated club wild cards due to not having either a licensed nor a multi-year associated club.

** This mechanism will be applied to the current EuroCup Champion (Valencia Basket) and EuroCup Runner-Up (ALBA Berlin) at the end of the 2019-20 season.

Three Euroleague Basketball clubs have been honored for their outstanding efforts off the court by being presented with the annual Devotion Marketing Awards.

Zalgiris takes top prize in Devotion Marketing Awards

Three Euroleague Basketball clubs have been honored for their outstanding efforts off the court by being presented with the annual Devotion Marketing Awards.

The announcement of the winners was a highlight of the Euroleague Basketball Business Summit, which took place in Barcelona on Wednesday and allowed top executives from Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and 7DAYS EuroCup clubs to exchange ideas and gain valuable insights from sports industry professionals.

To enter the Devotion Marketing Awards, clubs were invited to present a marketing initiative they had carried out during the 2018-19 season in areas such as digital strategy, sponsorship activation, brand development, ticketing and game presentation.

In first place, the Gold Award winner was Zalgiris Kaunas for its campaign to attract fans to attend their first games ever at Zalgirio Arena. Called #ZalgirisVirgin (or #ManoPirmas in Lithuanian), the project started with a focus group discussion to pinpoint the reasons why fans were not going to watch games live. The results were then analyzed, and a "first-timer package" was developed, giving new fans a scarf, a booklet with fan chants and a diploma, signed by the team's head coach, Sarunas Jasikevicius, to record their first visit to a home game.

"First of all, on behalf of Zalgiris Kaunas, I want to thank all the clubs and the EuroLeague for evaluating #ZalgirisVirgin as the best campaign of the season," Akvile Dagilyte, Communications Director for Zalgiris Kaunas, said. "Secondly, I want to thank our existing fans who liked the idea and worked hard all season to find other people who had never been to a Zalgiris game and kept pushing them to come. We still have much work to do next season, as well. Finally, it's amazing to work in an evolving club and be a part of the professional, ambitious and creative team working here, which makes projects like this happen."

Just as in last season's action on the court, second place was taken by Anadolu Efes Istanbul with its #WhereIStand project, which saw the Turkish club aim to become the center of attraction independent of sporting results. The overall brand identity restructuring strategy placed fans at the heart of the Efes community, converting game days into unforgettable events and helping achieve a significant increase in ticket sales. A new logo release, the launch of mini-documentary series involving the club's ex-players and coaches, and the development of a new merchandising strategy were among some of the steps taken towards that new brand identity.

The bronze award winner was FC Bayern Munich, which submitted its entry in the category of Brand Development & Corporate Social Responsibility, with a campaign following the motto: "A world like a court with a society like a team." Bayern developed a project called FCBB HELPSIDE, giving their various social activities a stage to increasingly involve fans, partners and all residents of Munich.

Congratulations to the winning clubs, and to all the others who submitted outstanding entries!

Euroleague Basketball is pleased to welcome Winline, one of the leading online gaming companies in Russia, as the newest member of its family of partners. The deal will see Winline become the Official Betting Partner of Euroleague Basketball in Russia until 2022.

Winline becomes Euroleague Basketball partner in Russia

Euroleague Basketball is pleased to welcome Winline, one of the leading online gaming companies in Russia, as the newest member of its family of partners. The deal will see Winline become the Official Betting Partner of Euroleague Basketball in Russia until 2022.

The Russian capital is the home of Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champion CSKA Moscow, as well as four other teams from four of Russian's biggest cities competing in either the EuroLeague or the 7DAYS EuroCup, assuring that this collaboration opens new and exciting opportunities for Russian fans.

"With its excellent reputation and loyal customer base, Winline is exactly the type of business Euroleague Basketball seeks in a partner," Roser Queralto, Euroleague Basketball Chief Business Development Officer, said. "Russia is a key market for Euroleague Basketball, which makes this partnership even more special."

Winline was founded in 2009 and has since become one of the largest betting companies in Russia. Joining forces with Euroleague Basketball is a natural step in Winline's quest to expand its customer base in the country. In March, Winline signed a three-year sponsorship with CSKA Moscow, too. The cooperation with Euroleague is expected to help increase the popularity of basketball and grow the sport's fanbase in Russia.

"We are happy to expand our presence in basketball as an official partner of Euroleague Basketball," Timur Dzhumaniyazov, Winline's vice president of marketing and strategy, said. "We are confident that this partnership will bring more emotion and excitement to basketball in Russia."