Sergey Kushchenko, President of the VTB United League, took part in a panel discussion as part of the “Expo Basket” conference
The 10th annual conference dedicated to the development of the basketball industry in Russia is taking place in Moscow on September 11–12. This major forum brought together leading experts from the sports industry.
Sergey Kushchenko participated in the panel discussion titled “Teamwork as the Formula for Victory.” Other speakers included Russian Basketball Federation (RBF) President Andrei Kirilenko, Roman Rotenberg, First Vice President of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation; Sergey Kryukov, President of the Russian Student Sports Union; Irina Rodnina, President of the All-Russian School Sports Federation; Alexander Yaremenko, Secretary General of the All-Russian Volleyball Federation; and Radmir Gabdullin, Secretary General of the Water Sports Federation.
During the conference, Sergey Kushchenko emphasized the importance of attracting a new audience to basketball and highlighted the League’s ongoing international efforts:
– One of the key areas of development for the VTB League is audience engagement. Thanks in part to our effective communication with the Russian Basketball Federation (RBF), we are implementing a major joint project to boost interest in our sport, attracting the attention of children and students through modern methods and a variety of media formats.
Our flagship project is, undoubtedly, the All-Star Game. It is a unique, proven product that allows us to expand our audience and attract bloggers and media personalities. We’ve had very good results here: last season, together with our partners, we saw significant growth in viewership across all platforms.
We also continue to maintain a presence on the international stage: we hold tournaments with friendly nations, including abroad—as was the case at the last Super Cup in Belgrade—and organize in-season competitions with foreign partners—all of which boosts greater interest in Russian basketball.
The VTB League has also established good communication with FIBA: our mid-season Winline Basket Cup tournament will be officially recognized in the near future.
