The ULEB wants to express its disappointment in the decision made by FIBA-Europe to not accept the agreement negotiated in recent months and wishes to clarify the following:

1.- The ULEB rejects the notion that it wanted to maintain the administration of the ULEB Cup in the same conditions under which it was run during the current season. On the contrary, from the start of talks, ULEB has stated its willingness to cede the administration of the competition to FIBA as long as FIBA guarantees the principle of participation by the clubs and national leagues in the decisions that affect them. But under no circumstance is it acceptable, given the current state of development of professional competitions, that the clubs be limited to following the instructions of the international federation.

2.- The ULEB cannot consent to its clubs being discriminated against in comparison to NBA clubs by the rejection of their right to be protected by an insurance policy for players who participate on national teams, although ULEB was willing to postpone the measure for two seasons for the sake of seeking agreement with FIBA-Europe.

3.- The ULEB has never accepted agreements that did not include all aspects that since the beginning of talks last December were included among the topics in need of resolution. On the contrary, ULEB has tried up to the last moment to find a solution that would permit its integration under the FIBA-Europe structure, and after the meeting held last Thursday in Madrid, sent a new proposal on Friday, May 16, and even went back to make that more flexible during the weekend.

4.- As may be verified in the working documents of these negotiations, in no case has it been the objective of any negotiation – not in this season nor in the previous two – the participation of ULEB in any form at FIBA assemblies, as ULEB has always respected that sphere as FIBA-Europe’s own.

5.- Under the current circumstances, ULEB asserts its strong will to continue with the project of developing club competitions based on the principles applied in the last three seasons, establishing as its top priority the satisfaction of basketball fans.

The ULEB will publish on Euroleague.net the most important points of the agreement that FIBA has rejected.

For more details contact:

Vladimir Stankovic
Director Media relations Department
EUROLEAGUE BASKETBALL, S.L.
Phone: +34 93 327 84 27
Fax: +34 93 327 84 24
e-mail: vladimir.stankovic@euroleague.net