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The role of the Ministry of Youth and Sports is greater than receiving delegations and distributing aid for political reasons.
The economic crisis, and then the Corona pandemic, hit the sports sector in Lebanon overall. The game of basketball may be the most affected due to the amount of money that was injected into this game. Many questions and concerns revolve in the minds of those involved in the game about their future and the image that Lebanese basketball will be in the coming years, starting with the new season, if there is one. Questions that “Al-Akhbar” asked the president of the Lebanese Basketball Federation, Akram Al-Halabi, so this interview was through video technology.
Is there a 2020-2021 basketball season in Lebanon?
Sure, there will be one season, but it certainly won’t be the same as previous seasons. There is a new reality on the ground economically. Not only in the game of basketball, but also at the level of the whole country, and therefore, everyone must adapt and study their situation well, because any missing step or error can be fatal.
How do you see next season and on what basis do you confirm the existence of a championship?
The clubs are there and the players are there, and we have worked to preserve them. We previously asked the parties to sit down and agree, but unfortunately some tried to take advantage of division and player-club problems to pursue personal interests. The problem exists before the Corona crisis, and even before the outbreak of events in Lebanon on October 17, 2019. The problem of the game of basketball is economic and financial based on the rule that spending is much greater than entry. This unfortunately created a deficit for the clubs. In the past, this deficit was covered by parties and political forces, on the one hand, and some sponsors, in addition to the income from television broadcasts.
But after the changes in Lebanon, the parties’ priorities became securing a livelihood for their fans rather than spending money on sports. As for pastors, their concern is to secure 25 to 30 percent of their employees’ wages, while transporting television is not a guarantee of providing returns for the game.
What is needed?
There should be a new vision, not just a new season. We can celebrate a season by requiring clubs to insure 12 players and play a championship. But is this required? Is this the solution?
A foundation conference should be held not only for the Basketball Association, but also for the Ministry of Youth and Sports. There are laws that must change completely, and this is the responsibility of the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
We should not laugh at ourselves. What are the achievements of Lebanese sport? Even the scores achieved by the game of basketball in World Cup tournaments came through naturalized players or “reclaimers” of their nationality, and did not find a place for them in teams from their other countries, so they reached the Lebanon. We qualify and exit the first round. We were not building basketball for the future. We were looking for quick achievements.
In my opinion, the foundation begins from the Ministry of Youth and Sports. The latter is not responsible for meeting with Scout institutions, lighting candles, and distributing financial aid to clubs for political reasons and through personal relationships. The mission of the Ministry of Youth and Sports is to lay the legal foundations for the development of sport in Lebanon.
It is too early to speak about the elections, and I am not a candidate to head the Lebanese Olympic Committee
Look at the last fifteen years. How many clubs did the Ministry license? What did they give to Lebanese sports? How many clubs have new players and athletes graduated?
Laws established by the Ministry of Youth and Sports do not motivate authorized clubs to operate in accordance with correct sports policies.
Enjoy a basketball game, for example. There are approximately 110 fifth grade clubs and 96 fourth grade clubs. If each club had a small academy that worked on the right bases, and each club graduated one player per year, we would have had 200 new players each year. Can you imagine the meaning of 200 new players graduating from the fourth and fifth clubs?
The problem with existing laws and the lack of regulation.
Everyone who wears pajamas and sneakers carries a ball and says I’m a basketball coach and they kill kids. He wants to teach them, and he basically doesn’t know what basketball is.
Incorporation is wrong. Basketball is no longer just a sport. I became a science that is taught in universities.
You should start by creating regulatory laws to establish the right basketball game. From clubs to coaches who must have first and second level certificates, in accordance with FIBA standards, to be eligible for training.
Have you sought to implement this in your union?
In the two years that we hosted the union, more than 250 coaches underwent the “Level 1” course, where a Serbian FIFA coach attended and held two courses, after which 150 coaches graduated, and then there was a second course. We have established a law in the federation that the training cannot be carried out without the coach having a “Level 1” or “Level 2” certificate.
This helps the federation to monitor the work of the academies, which is absolutely necessary. There are a lot of academies that are purely commercial. Syrian coaches are appointed without knowledge and experience. This was evident in the age group championships, where there was a big difference and great results between the teams. We saw good players and we follow players who don’t understand what a basketball game is.
Organizing the game with laws and laying the right foundations for establishing players is the right start.
Another thing to work on is taking advantage of public and private schools on the field to discover new players. Basketball is limited to the big cities and is absent from the villages, which are a repository for the players. Here comes the role of fourth and fifth grade clubs, which are often out of town, to recruit new players, provided there are good departments for these clubs and coaches to teach the basics of correct basketball.
Here, I affirm, if we implement these policies, after five to six years, we will deserve to reach the World Cup with Lebanese players, after we have become a great depository that breaks the current monopoly of some players from their clubs.
In the short term, you will be asked to complete a season. What will the union do and what are the problems it faces?
The problems are great; The cost of the tournament, which amounts to $ 250,000 of the salaries of the referees and employees, was covered by the income of the television. Unfortunately, this return was halted without any channel capable of paying the money. There is an idea we are working on, and if we are successful we will get rid of the television problem. There will be no official carrier for basketball games. As a consortium, we will produce our games at a much lower cost, but in a professional manner and with a high quality system.
Will there be foreigners in the tournament?
It is impossible to have foreigners in the new season due to the dollar crisis and the difficulty of insuring it, in addition to the difficulties related to remittances abroad. No one has the ability to secure money for foreigners. The clubs agree with this principle.
Will Lebanese players’ contracts be limited?
It is normal for contracts to be set, and this is one of the topics that will be presented at the founding conference in a way that preserves the dignity and rights of the players, while taking into account the capabilities and obligations of clubs. This is also important in preserving the reputation of Lebanon, which was severely damaged by lawsuits brought by the clubs’ lack of commitment to implement the contracts, due to its high value, which is not the size of the game, not even the size of the country’s economy. In Europe, for example, millions of players are very few. The rest were surprised by their wages.
The important thing is to establish contracts that the clubs can fulfill. The club is a legal figure that can be persecuted, unlike presidents who cannot be persecuted if they are outside the club.
This talk on inflation also applies to foreign players who previously came to Lebanon. They contract more than double with Lebanese clubs than with European clubs (about 80% more).
Despite this, they do not enjoy the required level, and most of them are of advanced ages, having accumulated their wealth, so they come to Lebanon to entertain themselves.
When will work begin in preparation for the new season?
We put pen heads on the topics that will be raised at the founding conference, depending on the problems we are facing and offering solutions. After the general mobilization ends fifteen days, the conference will be called, because after that we will need a general assembly to amend the laws to be agreed at the founding conference, and then a date will be set for the start of the championship.
The meeting is not complete without talking about the upcoming elections for the Lebanese Basketball Association later this year. Are you a candidate for a new term and are there other parties currently working for the elections?
It is too early to talk about elections. It depends on the circumstances and circumstances. There are people who currently entertain themselves talking about elections, and there may be two lists; One is strong, the other entertains, and matters end in agreement or, rather, without elections. Any electoral battle, not just in basketball, but in all games, will be devastating. No one has the financial capacity to open a fight.
If you return to the Basketball Association, are you a candidate for the presidency of the Lebanese Olympic Committee?
It’s impossible, it’s not on the list, and I don’t think about it, nor do I care, close or far, not even being a member of the Executive Committee of the Olympic Committee in case there is a seat for the Basketball Association … If I return to the Federation presidency, I will have a lot of work, so there is no time for the Olympic Committee. +
Appeal to those involved
(Sarkis Yertesian)
The president of the federation, Akram Al-Halabi, appeals to all those involved in the game that it is necessary to adapt to the new situation and scenario, since there is no solution, except through dialogue between clubs and players. “Anyone who thinks about the killing of clubs because his professional career is coming to an end and wants to raise as much money as possible, thinks selfishly and does not look at new people who need clubs to play in them.” We as an association have a duty to support dialogue between clubs and players. We understand that some people were traumatized by earning $ 250,000 annually, and now that is impossible. We must sit down and accept what logic says, and those who blackmail the clubs and the federation will be the losers, “President Akram Al-Halabi tells Al-Akhbar.
