ULEB held a meeting today in Brussels, featuring representatives from Europe’s leading leagues. VTB United League general director Ilona Korstin and the League’s representative to international organizations Jiri Zidek were in attendance.
This was ULEB’s first meeting since electing Tomas Van Den Spiegel as president in October 2016. Prior to Van Den Spiegel’s election, ULEB had been headed by Spain’s Eluardo Portela for 18 years. The organization founded the EuroLeague in 2000, which later withdrew from the ULEB brand, choosing to be self-governed by the participating clubs. At present, ULEB is a stakeholder in the Champions League, the new competition created by FIBA to counterbalance EuroLeague competitions. ULEB is also a stakeholder in the ECA (Euroleague Commercial Assets).
ULEB did not meet in Brussels by accident. New president Tomas Van Den Spiegel is from Belgium and plans to move ULEB headquarters to to the Belgian capital.
The following topics were discussed during the meeting.
– ULEB’s new Charter
– Appointing ULEB’s executive committee
– Meeting with the European Commission
– 2017-18 competition calendar
– Approving players for European competition
– ULEB’s activity
– Financial markers
– Marketing and communications
In addition, there were two speakers at the meeting. Data scientist Erik Mannens discussed the challenges that could face European basketball in the foreseeable future. Steven Martens, an executive from the Belgian professional football league, shared his experience on how to unlock young athletes’ potential as quickly as possible.
ULEB also elected an executive committee during the meeting, which included Ilona Korstin as a VTB United League representative.
