© Lauro Bassani – PhotoBass
Fortitudo Bologna will not participate in the 2023 Champions Cup. This was communicated by the Bolognese company in a note, where it underlines that it was “a very painful decision but which has the objective of sending a strong signal to the whole movement”.
The confirmed format of the competition now appears to have little interest – they say from Fortitudo – what emerges is a tournament with little “appeal” for everyone, especially for the sponsors, due to the many close matches concentrated in just 5 days.
In addition to the great risk of accidents, for the clubs this cup only involves costs to be incurred and no revenue is foreseen for the passage of rounds. Furthermore there is a total absence of television rights which for a European cup is somewhat paradoxical.
Fortitudo underlined that “she is collaborating with the WBSC and other top European clubs on the birth of a new cup similar to the basketball Euroleague, which allows more games to be played during the season with a higher technical level. This would ensure greater visibility for our sport, reduce risks and be an incentive to increase investments for all companies, thus having additional sponsors and institutional partners who can finance the organization and the participants. Finally, the formula of the Italian championship doesn’t allow us to have a full team right from the first phase, so the timing of the cup is not suitable for the needs of a team”.
