Liolios: “The result fills me with responsibility – Let’s go for structural changes – Those who pollute basketball should leave”

Radical changes were announced by Vangelis Liolios after the re-election to the presidency of the EEC. As he said, his emphatic dominance fills him with responsibility, while he also referred to arbitration stressing that emphasis will be placed on the part of education.

“I thank all the unions that participated in the election process, for the participation rate of 98%. It is a record in absolute number. The result gives the legitimacy to put into practice what we communicated. The percentage of 77.5% is impressive, both for me and for the advisors, where 16 of the 18 members of the Board share the same philosophy and only one member, Yiannis Bourousis, was elected from the other side. We understand our responsibility towards the clubs and Greek basketball. The unions basically give me a blank check to make the changes they need. In the first term we made many changes, maybe not as many as needed. We did quite a few right and some mistakes. We tried to strengthen the base of the federation. The unions told us that we should without fear but with passion make the radical, structural changes that Greek basketball needs“, he emphasized.

“Basketball unites. I do not respond to any challenge. Pre-election illegal actions were taken that will follow the path of justice. We want clean basketball and the few who pollute our space must leave it. The result of the team was seen, we went in an organized manner, with humility, with the same vision and the same values. And this is what won the trust of the unions. Each of the 850 clubs will understand what we want to do, with radical changes in the structure of all Greek basketball. Basketball is not winning and losing, it is not the result of a derby. To get there there are other things, honesty, sincerity, society. We want agents, coaches, referees, athletes who will serve basketball as we envision it. And of course we don’t forget the role of journalists and how they communicate with the fans“, he added.

As for the priorities in his second term? “Two areas need special emphasis: the spread of basketball to the female gender and the coaching direction with training in development. I left the refereeing part for last, we will focus on the training of referees. I believe that refereeing is not a critical factor, but how we deal with refereeing. The training of the referees is important, to have respect from and towards the referees. We have other things we plan to do, such as increasing our CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) actions.“, he noted.

Regarding the Women’s Eurobasket to be held in 2025 in Greece, he said:Eurobasket is a means to bring more people closer to women’s basketball, agents, coaches and by extension female athletes. If we bring the woman close to basketball, we bring the whole family close to basketball. It is a long-term four-year plan».

Finally, when asked if it was worth it to be a candidate again, he replied:You will have to ask me at the end of the four years. I have left my family, my business, my team… Everyone knows that. But the point is to do something you’re proud of. I am proud to be in this position. I will make many mistakes, but I do not commit injustices. The result of the election fills me with responsibility for what I should do».