Bokan: The ABA League is more than basketball and sport, and European basketball is in crisis

From a special reporter for "Vijesti" from Ljubljana

The ABA League is more than basketball and more than sport, and European basketball is in crisis - is the message from the president of the Budućnost Voli basketball club and member of the ABA League Presidency, Dragan Bokan from Ljubljana.

A Business Forum was held in Ljubljana today, and Bokan participated in the panel "The Future of the ABA League and European Basketball" organized by the ABA League. In addition to him, the panelists were the president of the ABA League and Partizan Ostoja Mijailović, the director of Euroleague competition Diego Guljen, and the vice president of Cedevita-Olimpija Tomaš Berločnik.

Bokan said at the Business Forum that the entire European basketball is in crisis.

"It seems to me that the entire European basketball is in a major crisis. Money creates better conditions, logistics, but money destroys many things. I think we have gone too commercial and prioritized money. We have forgotten that we need to take care of passability," said Bokan.

President of Budućnost Voli made a comparison with UEFA.

"We have football on one side and UEFA President Aleksander Čeferin, who does it only in a way that brings rapid development of money creation when it comes to football and serious equality. Whoever wants to invest in football in Europe, from any address, can, if they have good management and money, become European champion. Why is that not the case with basketball at the moment," Bokan said.

Bokan said that European basketball is suffering.

"Who is even more responsible for why this is the case - it is FIBA. I want to believe that Jorge Garbahosa and Kamil Novak can negotiate and must sit down at the table so that European basketball does not suffer. And it suffers precisely because it has no continuity, because it is not known who will play in which competition in Europe next year, neither in the Euroleague, nor in the Eurocup, nor in the FIBA ​​Champions League, nor in the FIBA ​​Europe. Why is this so? Because both FIBA ​​and the Euroleague allowed the seven or eight richest people in Europe to play basketball," Bokan pointed out.

He said that was unacceptable.

"That is true and we need to get answers from those addresses. We want to solve it all together. That we from the ABA region, the owners of the ABA League, stop the differences that will destroy the League. That we from this address, at this Assembly that we are having, come up with the right solutions tomorrow, be united and show that we want a league that seeks to advance towards the biggest European competitions," said Bokan.

Bokan then addressed Mijailović.

"Željko Drčelić from Red Star is not here, so I can't get an answer from him, but Ostoja is here. How do you feel when Partizan and Red Star have to pay money, which is not small, to play in the Euroleague. It's not a registration fee of 100.000 euros or something like that, but significant money to compete in the Euroleague. The Euroleague is the best basketball club league, what does that mean? It's 2026 now, Partizan and Red Star have to pay big money to play in the Euroleague. How is that fair, is that the development of basketball? How is it possible that a club that has been competing for less than two years is playing in that competition," Bokan said, clearly alluding to Dubai.

Mijailović then replied.

"Over the past 10 years, I have seen various changes. I don't feel good, that's for sure. Partizan is one of the clubs with the most fans, we have millions of fans, and we have to adapt and pay to play in the Euroleague. Projects like Buducnost, Cedevita Olimpija and the like have less income in the Eurocup... Bokan has initiated things that are very important. Player prices have gone up, clubs are paying penalties. We can't all be equally rich, but we have to have different values," Mijailović concluded.