Lioliou’s proposal to ESAKE for integration into functional parts

The Hellenic Basketball Federation submitted a revolutionary proposal to directly connect the Basket League with the rest of Greek basketball so that they can move forward together towards the common progress of the sport. This envisages cooperation on many levels, from refereeing, to organizational issues, marketing and calendar. The proposal, addressed by the president of the EEC, is expected to be discussed at the meeting of the Board scheduled for today (17/7).

The letter in detail:

“Dear members of ESAKE,

I am very happy to communicate with you and that as Basketball Corporations, carrying in your bowels the Founding Amateur Associations, you represent basketball at the highest level both inside and outside of Greece. In the last two years that I have been in the Management of the EEC as President, I have seen the practical disposition of your Association for cordial cooperation and unity in the field of basketball so that together we can face the difficulties but also take advantage of the opportunities of our sport within the Greek society .

A few days ago we had a very constructive meeting with the Board of ESAKE where we found the need but also the will for “unification” of basketball in all areas while keeping the institutional role of the two Organizations. In this context, as EEC, I would like to propose to you the cooperation initially for the next three years on issues that, together, we can achieve better results, both quantitatively and qualitatively. The areas in which we could initially “pilot” consolidate our actions are, in our opinion, five:

Common organization chart between EEC and ESAKE to achieve economies of scale. That is, a common working framework, organizational structure and common actions (organization of competitive action, calendar, marketing department, CSR, social media, etc.) so that with common human and financial resources we can achieve economies of scale to reduce expenses to the benefit of the teams.

Joint jurisdictional bodies which will bring about equal treatment of all teams in the sport and at the same time save the resources of the two Organizations.

Absolute interconnection between the Basket League and the Elite League both at the level of organizational structure and extroversion and at the level of agreement – framework for promotion and relegation of teams from one league to the other.

Unification of refereeing between Basket League and Elite League with an active role and participation of teams from both leagues within the department’s operating framework in a model that can be a case study at pan-European level.

Shared sponsorship framework between the Basket League and Elite League competitions. The EEC has already prepared a proposal for the sponsorship consolidation and promotion of basketball which will financially bring about a minimum (guaranteed by the EEC) financial benefit for the ESAKE teams of the order of 1,500,000 to 1,700,000 per year for the next three years and on the other hand, a unique opportunity for substantial unification of basketball both in terms of commercial negotiation and social extroversion, which qualitatively can have multiple benefits for both Organizations.

I am sure that the specific proposal of “unification” of basketball, as you have repeatedly requested, will find you in agreement. The times call for dynamism, unity and mutual respect from all who love basketball.

We will be happy if you agree as ESAKE with the specific cooperation framework to immediately set a face-to-face meeting between all the members of ESAKE and the EEC Bureau in order to analyze in detail the cooperation framework and the next steps.

With sporting greetings.”