Paris (AFP)

"We are aware that the situation is complex", admitted Jordi Bertomeu, boss of the Euroleague, while the Asvel project seems to raise the enthusiasm of the 61-year-old Spaniard, in an interview on Wednesday, at the eve of the start of the 20/21 season.

Q: What feeling predominates in you for the season which begins on Thursday, under the threat of Covid-19?

A: A lot of enthusiasm especially.

Everyone (teams, players, Euroleague staff ...) really wanted to come back.

But we are also aware that the situation is complex.

During the months of August and September, we worked a lot with the clubs, we set up flexibility mechanisms to change the dates of a meeting or even play a match in a different country.

These will be circumstances that we might experience during the season, but we have put these mechanisms in place to make it happen with as few problems as possible.

We know that the pandemic is constantly evolving, from one country to another, we have 42 teams (18 in Euroleague, and 24 in Eurocup), which travel every week and it is difficult to manage. "

Q: How has the Euroleague absorbed the financial shock of an end of the season stopped well before its end?

A: "We have already said that we suffered a drop in revenue of around 30%. The clubs only received 13% less than what they should have received. Of course, that was. a bad year for us and for all clubs. For all sports I think. "

Q: Is your project viable despite the current crisis?

A: “Yes. The Euroleague has shown that in the last few years, especially since we changed the format, revenues have multiplied exponentially. We are practically at 150% more revenue than in 2016, when we started with this new formula. Yesterday we announced a new sponsor. In the next few days we will announce more. Obviously we have had a bad year, but I believe that no sector of the economy We are no exception. But structurally, the Euroleague continues to be healthy. "

Q: Asvel played their first season in the Euroleague last year.

How do you see this club?

A: "I don't like to comment on the sporting aspect. It is to be considered in the medium and long term, you have to be consistent over time. I think Asvel is on the right track in this regard. Of Asvel, I really like the vision of the owner (Tony Parker, editor's note), the structure of the club. The fact that another sports entity as important as Olympique Lyonnais has now entered the capital also confirms that this is a project with a bright future. I hope that within a reasonable period of time the club can have a room which will allow them to be even more competitive in the Euroleague, but they are on the right track and we are very satisfied with the decision we have made. "

Q: Have you considered postponing the end of the regular season, which will have to end on April 13?

A: "The idea is to finish on May 31 in Cologne (with the Final 4, Editor's note), and we have no margin afterwards, because there will be the play-offs of the various European championships, then Olympic qualifying tournaments. We all need to make an effort to stick to that date and all clubs are aware of that. "

Q: To keep to this schedule, you could relocate some matches.

Do you have rooms provided for this purpose?

A: "Yes, we have a list of rooms to play our competitions. There are more than 20 rooms that could be used. If this were to be done, it would have to be the least penalizing for the team, by looking for the closest possible location. We will adapt to find the most comfortable solution for the teams. "

Interview by Guillem HIDALGO

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