On May 20 there will be the elections for the presidency of the Spanish Basketball Federation. Elisa Aguilar announces her candidacy in an interview in BRAND in which she wants to continue what she started in October, when she became the first president of the FEB in more than 100 years.
Ask. She has been president of the FEB for 165 days, is this what she dreamed of? Have you had any unpleasantness?
Answer. The truth is that I have not had any unpleasantness. Since October 2, 23, I feel very supported by the General Assembly and that gave me great motivation to get to work and above all to ensure that all the ideas that I put on the table that day come out.
If I’m honest, in six months we have done a lot and those approaches are moving forward: the issue of licenses, the women’s collective agreement, that great tournament that we said was going to be played in Spain, which is the Pre-Olympic. I wanted a top-level international tournament and we already have it. The classification of the women’s team is a boost to all the work that has been done with the clubs, coaches and players of the Women’s League. I haven’t had any disappointment. Because losing the Ventana games is not what we want, of course, but there is still a lot to do in that classification.
Q. Last Monday the 11th, the call for elections was made official. Why is it presented?
A. I am running for the same reason I ran last time, because I feel very strong and supported at all levels, not only by the basketball ecosystem but because I also have a team in the Federation that can make me The FEB continues to be ambitious in terms of growth and because I believe that we have a product called basketball that can not only give us joy on a sporting level but can also change people’s lives. We have a sport that can greatly help people have a better life. I am very excited, I really want to put myself four years ahead to carry out everything I announced in October.
I am running for the same reason I ran last time, because I feel very strong and supported at all levels.
Elisa Aguilar, president of the FEB
Q. How do you see the game? Won, you have to play it, do you need to know your rival?
A. It is a party in which we must have maximum respect for the electoral process. I play it from humility, with ambition, with the desire to win, with wanting to be the president and with the luck of having great teammates who I believe will make me president in May.
Q. Last week, the record number of licenses in women’s sports was announced, 138,267, and 273,618 for men. The total number is 411,885. It promised to reach 500,000 by 2030. Has it fallen short? Was it a bluff? Don’t you think this is like a medal even if it looks less?
A. Well yes, it is a good medal, gold. Because I think that the offer that young people have is much broader, there are more and more sports that they can do, but basketball is still chosen. Leisure has changed. Having grown by 9% is a gold medal because that is the future of our sport, that more and more of us play basketball and when the playing stage is over, that they remain close, that they consume. Hopefully the 500,000 falls short and we can soon reach another higher figure.
Q. Tell me about your other projects, the La Familia Club and the Team Spain Club that you will develop if you are elected.
A. With Club La Familia we are going to be the first Federation in the world that is going to have a loyalty club, with advantages for members and who have access to discounts on tickets, experiences, promotions… We want them to feel close to us. our teams, of our Federation because they are part of the success. All the people who make basketball great have to be in this Club La Familia. The fans have to be part of this.
And then we will launch the Club Team Spain, which is for players who have worn the national team, to reaffirm a feeling of belonging and enhance it. It is what has made us different at a European and global level. We have talent, we have shown it, but we always had more and what always gave us a plus is the commitment of wanting to come every summer to give up our lives for the national team. From Club Team Spain we are going to promote it.
The increase in licenses is a good, gold medal. Because I think that the offer that young people have is much broader, there are more and more sports that they can do, but basketball continues to be chosen.
Elisa Aguilar, president of the FEB
Q. Another of your crusades is the professionalization of women’s basketball structures. Promoted the signing of the collective agreement. How was it possible that in 2023 there would still be no text or legal framework to properly regulate, for example, maternity leave? The one from 2008 was very short, right?
A. This was a priority for me because I think it is essential, when we say that the Women’s League is the best in Europe, that we stay in words, we must confirm it with facts. Since 2008 it could not be done due to different circumstances, but I believe that the objective has been achieved and I only have words of praise for the club association and the players’ association. Although sometimes we don’t agree on things, it had to be done. We have been accompanying them on this journey when they have needed us and the CSD has also wanted to be part of it so that the professionalization of the structures is easier with the support they will provide to the clubs.
When we say that the Women’s League is the best in Europe, these are not just words, we must confirm it with facts such as the signing of the collective agreement
Elisa Aguilar, president of the FEB
P. Record number of women’s licenses, determined attempt to professionalize the Women’s League, a president at the head of the Federation for the first time in 100 years. They are going to have to make a monument to basketball in their fight against gender inequality…
A. For us this topic is a reference. We are clear. We, women’s basketball has been key for a long time, it continues to be key. For me there are no gender rules, I want to have the best at my side. It is part of our belief. If this helps other sports, welcome. It’s certainly not posturing.
Q. Do you know of any rival candidacy?
A. I don’t have any news in that regard. But maximum respect for the democratic process. I am working so that she can be president in May. I feel very supported and supported.
Q. Let’s focus on sports. How did you experience the women’s Pre-Olympic? Notice what a paradox if the women’s selection gives you the first displeasure?
R. It would have been curious. Fortunately we can be in Paris 2024 with the women’s team. It wasn’t easy at all. The Pre-Olympic was somewhat misleading because there were four teams and three qualified, but the four that there were were very good teams. Hungary, which could have been perfectly fine, was left out. I am very happy first for them, for the players. Being in the Games is something very special. They have worked hard, they have suffered a lot because they wanted to be there. Competing at a time like February, taking a break in a League like the Women’s League, so competitive, where you can’t get lost on any weekend. They came with very heavy legs, but seeing them compete fills me with pride and confidence. I am very happy for them, for the staff and for Miguel Mndez.
It would have been curious if the first disappointment had come from the women’s team. Fortunately we can be in Paris 2024. I am very happy for the players, the staff, Miguel. They deserve it”
Elisa Aguilar, president of the FEB
Q. I heard you that during the Canada-Japan match, decisive for the future of the team, you had to leave the pavilion. Is it an urban legend?
A. It’s really true. I preferred not to see it because it was making me nervous. We had another bullet, but if they make your way easier, welcome. That’s why the moment it was consumed, they told me and I started running to the pavilion that might have been an Olympic diploma in Paris in the 100.
Q. If you suffer as a player and as a coach you suffer more, they say, I can’t imagine what the torture of the box must be like.
A. Much more. When you are a player you can influence something in a game, on the field or from the bench. For us, the work is prior, setting the conditions so that the team can then achieve its objective. When the game only remains for you to suffer, cheer in silence and it is true that everything you suffer is because you have something at stake. The feminine, the masculine and the 3×3 are chasing the Games, blessed suffering.
Q. With N’Dour’s great season and Gustafson’s enormous performance in the Pre-Olympic, is there a problem when choosing?
R. Miguel is going to have to make a decision between two players of high sporting and involvement level, obviously more Astou, who has been with us for longer. We try to put the best conditions, names, so that the coach can then make the best team that he considers he has to lead due to his style of play, the characteristics of the rivals, etc. It’s a blessed problem.
I don’t know in depth what happened with the Brahim case, but we are very close to the players
Elisa Aguilar, president of the FEB
Q. Would the FEB have handled the Brahim Case differently?
A. I don’t know in depth what happened in that situation, but we are always very close to the players, since they start with us from the U12, their agents, their clubs. What we always want is for them to experience the feeling of belonging from the first minute. Obviously it is a personal decision that a player decides to represent one country or another, but we try to make them feel close to us, to have a fluid relationship.
Q. You started playing the Pre-Olympic by having it be played at home, in Valencia. Now it’s up to Scariolo’s team. How is the president experiencing it?
A. I am very confident, very excited and very sure that we are going to give everything so that the passport at stake in Valencia is for Spain. I think we are in the best hands, which are Sergio’s, and we have the best team, which has already proven it many times. We play at home. I am very optimistic. It is very important for the team to be in the Games. There’s a romantic feeling with Rudy too. He will be the only player in history with six Games in basketball. Everything fits so that we are there.
Scariolo is the best coach the men’s team can have. If I am elected again, I am convinced that I will remain with us for many years
Elisa Aguilar, president of the FEB
Q. Are you worried about the uncertainty in relation to the bench?
A. No, I always said that he is the best coach the men’s team can have. What I am responsible for is my words. If I become president again, I am convinced that I will be with us for many years.
Q. Have you had a lot of hesitation with Inter’s elimination at the Metropolitano?
A. I am super respectful because I know that he is very Inter, he has it within him. That’s why I haven’t said a word.
2024-03-16 09:11:52
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