Since last Saturday, Jorge Garbajosa (Torrejón de Ardoz, 1977) is the new president of FIBA Europe. And yes, a creepy ran for his body in Munich. “After Elisa’s (Aguilar) presentation speech, which by the way was impressive, you see yourself in front of 50 representatives of federations to speak… Suddenly, you feel something very cool, that you are starting again from scratch. AND that is exactly what I wanted and I noticed it right in that speech; the challenge of winning is addictive”, the still president of the FEB says relaxed, a few days later, in the AS meeting room.
Garbajosa won by a majority over the other candidate, Jean-Pierre Siutat, who had been presented by a legend, Tony Parker, who, displaying a fairplay Spectacular, he praised Siutat’s qualities in his presentation speech, but warned that “Jorge is a great leader.” Garbajosa won the vote 35-15, but it was not that easy… “You cannot be in the voting. So I took a walk with Elisa and the voting started 0-6… That’s when you swear that you won’t run for an election anymore, that everyone who was going to vote for you has deceived you and that this is the dinner for idiots and you are the idiot… But it was 1-6 and, from there, the final choice”.
So, that’s it, Garbajosa is already president of FIBA Europe and it’s time for him to get down to business. But first, you have to leave the house in order. “Because I always say that the FEB is my real home. Since I left mine at the age of 14, I haven’t spent as much time in a place as in the FEB. I feel that way, and that’s why I want to protect her for the next two and a half months.” As the new president of FIBA Europe, he has to resign from his position as FEB president in the next three months. And he has already decided how he will transition. He will leave in the meantime tournament of tournaments which commemorates the Centenary of the FEB and which will bring together the teams from the United States, Slovenia and Spain in Malaga on the weekend of August 11, 12 and 13; and the Board of FIBA that will be held in Manila on August 22, on the eve of the start of the World Cup. “A U-19 World Cup is coming up in which the glass court will be released (the floor becomes a huge giant video screen that multiplies and improves the experience with projection of statistics, metrics…). There is the women’s Eurobasket and the start of the concentration before the absolute men’s World Cup. Then, already in the World Cup itself, the operation is different and is more dependent on FIBA. But during the preparation, you have to be there and protect the house”.
The great team of the Spanish Federation
That does not mean that Garbajosa does not trust those who remain. “I will not be so presumptuous as to think that being number one in the FIBA ranking is because of me. The FEB work team has a gear, and sorry for the term, helluva. In the seven years that I have been there, there has not been a decision that has not been made as a team. If I think I know more than the communication director (Víctor Charneco), than the general director (Oscar Graefenhain) or than the competitions director (Elisa Aguilar), why do I have them? I promise to stop bothering when I leave. Of course, my phone will always be available if someone needs help. Elisa Aguilar, by the way, will be except surprise the next president of the FEB in September, once the stipulated deadlines are met. In 2024, when there is a new Assembly, it will be when new presidential elections are held, which could be before the Games (with permission from the CSD) or after.
Garbajosa, then, will not leave the house unprotected. But she has to get down to business in FIBA Europe, where for the moment she will trust the staff current (“Kamil Novak is a ten as CEO; I know the people out there and, before I dive in there, I absolutely trust them”). The man from Madrid He has promised to travel next year to all 50 countries and plans to start with those “Developing”. “It’s not politics, it’s conviction,” he explains from his new position. And she does not hide the lucrative affair. “We need to generate money.” For this, she will put the tools. In addition to the commissions that already exist, 3×3 areas will be launched, Quality and, of course, business development through private investment funds, public aid such as funds from the European Union and digital tools. Remember Garbajosa that the FEB has been a pioneer in the broadcasting of women’s League matches through platforms such as Twich and Twitter.
Follow the commitment to women’s basketball
Women’s basketball has been one of Garbajosa’s great bets. “But not because of that condescension of the poor girls, you have to help them. I’m tired of it. Basketball feminine is a very powerful niche. I am very heavy and I believe that the fine rain ends up soaking. We did not give in to discouragement and in a championship that was familiar, almost with artisanal teams to put it in some way, there are now ten players from the National Team who are competing in our League…”.
For a moment, the conversation in the AS meeting room turns to the cool thing: the relationship with the Euroleague. “I don’t know Marshall Glickman (CEO of the Euroleague since last September), but I do know Dejan Bodiroga. I know they are reasonable people.” Garbajosa admits that “There is an open conversation” with the Euroleague. Of course, he speaks in terms of “coordination”, not “integration”. of the private competition within the governing body of European basketball. This coordination has to do, above all, with the calendar. And it is clear that, for the new president of FIBA Europe, the Windows are untouchable (“they may seem uncomfortable at certain times, but we have expanded our base from 20 to 50 players; and they are untouchable because they have allowed us to take basketball to Cáceres, Jaén, Córdoba, Pamplona…).
And not only that. Also the national leagues. “They are bread and lentils. The national leagues mean eat at home, that is the basis. Then you can go out for dinner.” Garbajosa too defended the product of the Basketball Champions League, the highest continental competition within FIBA: “In seven years it has reached levels of excellence. We have been able to see it in Malaga”. The key, once again, the calendar. “Everything can fit, but everyone has to listen to each other, putting the player and the fan at the center of everything. And knowing that the Windows are no longer a matter of debate.
Finish the visit with the feeling that no one leaves here. Garbajosa leaves the FEB, yes, but to jump to a higher structure from which he will look affectionately at his 50 members (“We need to go hand in hand at 50”) and will try to put Europe back in the forefront of events worldwide. But that the apple of her eye, in addition to ‘her’ Candela of hers, will continue to be the FEB.
