The value of the FEB Centenary to be held in 2023, the commitment of the sponsors, the unity of all Spanish basketball, the challenge of the U19 Women’s World Cup. And also from Pau Gasol. on the eve of the historic tribute to him by the Lakers… The president of the FEB completes his personal balance of the successful and unforgettable year 2022.
“We want to live a Centenary like never seen before”
“The Centennial is a perfect and wonderful excuse. First, to look back and recognize that if we have reached where we are in 100 years, it is thanks to so many, many, many who have made the effort they have made. And second, for basketball to break a ceiling. We have a lot of activity, let’s say ordinary, we have to prepare for the World Cup, the women’s European… but we want everything to have a playful, eye-catching, promotional look like has never been seen before in sports in our country”.
“The Junta de Andalucía are friends, friends of this house, of basketball, they have been collaborating for many years… In addition, we are very lucky that the Andalusian Basketball Federation is with the Junta, which is a super professional, super proactive federation when it comes to organizing events… This is difficult to say without getting emotional, but if you add to that the fact that she meets Javier Imbroda, former coach, the counselor, the undersecretary general for sports, the president of the Board, Juan Moreno, they are lovers basketball absolutes, they have understood that sport can be the economic engine of a region like Andalusia, of tourism, international projection… It is perfect so that not everything but the great events of the Centenary are going to be held there”.
“The best Federation in the world”
“I proposed a quite important challenge, which was to reach the Centenary year as the best Federation in the World. And we arrived with significant economic stability, a commitment from our sponsors that allows us to be very balanced, very stable and ambitious with respect to the future… With a united basketball, respecting each of the decisions and discrepancies from around the world”.
“With our leading teams in training, with a hopeful future, our growing competitions, with the largest number of FIBA-licensed referees in history… And the Centenary arrives. It is very ambitious, it will be very stressful for the entire FEB team… but I would love it if on December 31, 2023 we could say that Spanish basketball has taken a step forward through the Centenary ‘platform’”.
“I say thank you to the sponsors but I always have the feeling that I fall short”
“We are talking about sponsors, companies, partners who have been accompanying Spanish basketball and the Federation for ten, eleven, twelve years. Gratitude is eternal, it is priceless, but not only for being there for so many years but also for how they are. See how Plaza 3×3 CaixaBank becomes institutionalized and cities all over the country are already waiting for the time to enjoy the event. How Endesa, in addition to appearing on the jersey, betting on the Women’s League, which has achieved spectacular growth largely thanks to Endesa’s support. To our technical sponsor Nike, to our friends at Finetwork, for betting on that different type of communication that brings us closer to the youngest… etcetera, etcetera, I don’t want to forget any of them. Sponsoring members who join the FEB because they believe in a project, to all of them, thank you, thank you. I tell them every time I see them but I always have the feeling that I fall short.
“The relationship with the ACB is exceptional”
“With the ACB League, the relationship is exceptional, not only, of course, with the leaders, with its president, its general manager, the relationship is very close and highly collaborative, but also with the clubs. Here there are no clubs and Federation, here there is a basketball, and we have to make it grow together, each one contributing from their responsibility. As its president, Antonio Martín, likes to say, and I make his words my own, there is only one basketball, and as long as we follow this maxim, I am convinced that we are going to grow and grow”.
“The great house of Spanish Basketball”
“We are the great house of Spanish basketball, and we have to help all of Spanish basketball continue to function. And this happens because they are very creative, very ambitious, but also very coherent with the economic reality. Giving positive numbers for many years now, maintaining the faithful and close support of our sponsors, having a consistency, often extreme, firm, in each euro that enters or leaves the FEB, for us it is an inalienable working method and which allows us to reach the heights that little by little, I don’t know if very quickly or not so fast, we are reaching”.
“We only compete on the field, in everything else we are partners in pursuit of a common good”
“We have to try to be driving forces, by collaborating with all the organizations. I am not looking for any personal recognition, but for me being a member of the executive committee of the Spanish Olympic Committee, of FIBA Europe, of the FIBA Central Board, of the Competitions Commission… that all our managers are in different commissions of any organization, it is not a question of ego, it is a matter of collaborating. If the FEB, as a benchmark for sport in Spain and basketball in the world, can help or contribute to growth, we will be there. We only compete on the field, in everything else we are partners in pursuit of a common good”.
“We want a U19 Women’s World Cup that attracts the attention of the whole world”
“We want to make a U19 Women’s World Cup that attracts the attention of the whole world. We want it to be a World Cup that is similar to the U17 in Malaga in terms of public attention, impact… And I am convinced that WiZink is going to be that extra point that we sometimes need to attract the attention of our fans, apart from the daily work with our competitions, etc.
“Wherever he has passed, Pau has left a legacy”
“The withdrawal of Pau’s shirt by the Lakers could not be something more deserved. Pau, apart from his performance on the field, and I won’t be the one to discover it, everywhere he has passed he has left his legacy, a very deep personal legacy. Seeing a Spaniard in the dome of the Lakers pavilion is very exciting, I’m not going to miss it, out of pride as president, as a friend, as a teammate. All Spanish basketball, all the players, the boys and girls who put on a shirt to play basketball, will feel the utmost pride to see one of their representatives at the top of the Mecca of basketball, such as Lakers pavilion.
