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Euroleague Basketball mourns Franco Casalini

Euroleague Basketball expresses its condolences to the Italian basketball family upon learning of the death of Franco Casalini, a continental champion with EA7 Emporio Armani Milan, who passed away on Thursday at age 70.

Casalini worked for Olimpia Milan for 18 years, most of them as the team's assistant coach, from 1977 to 1987. When Dan Peterson stepped down as head coach, Casalini helped Molan to successfully defend the EuroLeague title, downing Maccabi Tel Aviv 90-84. He also lifted the Intercontinental Cup trophy with Milan in 1988, and added an Italian League title in 1989. Casalini went on to coach Libertas Forli and Virtus Roma before briefly returning to Milan, reaching the 1998 Saporta Cup final. Casalini also coached SAV Vacallo, which he led to back-to-back Swiss Cup titles in 1999 and 2000.

Once he finished his coaching career, Casalini was a longtime TV analyst for Sky Sports and also for EuroLeague TV, where he became a content director in 2011.

May he rest in peace.

<center><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="it" dir="ltr">L’Olimpia piange la scomparsa improvvisa di Franco Casalini a soli 70 anni. Alla famiglia va l’abbraccio più forte di tutti noi. Franco è sempre stato un cuore biancorosso oltre che un leggendario allenatore. 🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏 <a href="https://t.co/66B2LMUHzC">pic.twitter.com/66B2LMUHzC</a></p>&mdash; Olimpia Milano (@OlimpiaMI1936) <a href="https://twitter.com/OlimpiaMI1936/status/1552714767525093378?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 28, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> </center>

Euroleague Basketball mourns Franco Casalini 

With the extension, which runs until the end of the 2025-26 season, Deutsche Telekom will air Euroleague competitions for more than a decade.

The new agreement follows the last extension between them, signed in 2021, and assures that Deutsche Telekom will continue offering and broadcasting all EuroLeague and EuroCup games. Additionally, MagentaSport will broadcast one Turkish Airlines EuroLeague game per round on a free-to-air basis for all German fans.

For one affordable price, German fans will be able to watch not only the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and the 7DAYS EuroCup but also FIBA national teams competitions, German Federation competitions and, of course, the easyCredit Basketball Bundesliga, making Magenta Sport the home of basketball in the country. MagentaSport is available on most connected devices, including TVs, smartphones, tablets, games consoles and PCs.

Euroleague Basketball has managed to grow its fanbase in Germany by 56% over the last three years, including an outstanding 27% jump in the total TV audience and a 39% increase on a per-game basis between the last two seasons.

"We are delighted to extend our partnership with Deutsche Telekom and MagentaSport," Alex Ferrer Kristjansson, Marketing and Communication Senior Director at Euroleague Basketball, said. "MagentaSport has been a true partner in growing the popularity of the sport and of the EuroLeague and the EuroCup in Germany, delivering the games to more and more fans every season, and resulting in unprecedented levels of popularity and audience levels. Germany remains a key market for both leagues and this extension confirms the high potential that both Deutsche Telekom and Euroleague Basketball see in the territory, and the commitment to continue to provide fans with a great experience in the coming years."

"We are deepening an already successful cooperation with our partners in basketball in the long term. Especially the best league in Europe, the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague is experiencing a steadily growing popularity among the fan community," Arnim Butzen, Deutsche Telekom Vice President Commercial Management TV & Entertainment, said. "MagentaSport continues to bundle the best and largest live offer: with European basketball, the World and European Championships and all matches of the German national team."

Deutsche Telekom and Euroleague Basketball have again strengthened the commitment they forged in 2015 by signing a new agreement that will continue bringing the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and 7DAYS EuroCup to MagentaSport, the dedicated sports platform of the German telecommunications leader.

EuroLeague, EuroCup to stay on MagentaSport in Germany through 2026

The Euroleague Commercial Assets Shareholders met on Friday, July 8, 2022, and made the following decisions:

1. Reviewing and approving the list of participating teams in the 2022-2023 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and 7DAYS EuroCup competitions.

2. To modify the EuroLeague competition bylaws with the addition of a new article that regulates the consequences of the application of article 151 (‘Unforeseen circumstances’), more specifically the limitation of the impact on Licensed Clubs’ rights and their participation in governing bodies.

Decisions of the ECA General Assembly

The 20 clubs that will participate in the 2022-23 7DAYS EuroCup season met on Friday to plan for the new campaign.

EuroCup Clubs Meeting tips off 2022-23 season

The meeting began with a review of the 2021-22 season, which was the first under a revamped model that provides the clubs with more guaranteed home games than ever before, maximizing the fun for their fans and opening more business opportunities for clubs. 

The 2021-22 season delivered, once again, increased TV viewership figures, with the brand-new knock-out rounds leading the way with a growth of more than 50% in audience per game compared to the previous season’s games, according to Nielsen Sports. Digital audiences also increased by 13% in followers, 10% in engagement and 15% in video views, marking an outstanding debut of the new format. 

Attending clubs' representatives were also informed about economic distribution and reviewed the implementation of the Financial Stability & Fair Play Regulations (FSFPR) after one season in force for the 7DAYS EuroCup. The main topics reviewed were:

- The prohibition of overdue payables.
- Minimum participation budget of 2.5 million euros.
- Limitation of expenses allocated to player salaries to 65% of the total expenses of the club.
- Limitation of shareholder contributions to a maximum of 65% of the total expenses of the club.
- An aggregate financial deficit limited to 10% of a club's average budget in a three-year period.

Euroleague Basketball’s senior director of officiating, Richard Stokes, provided a report on referee performance during the 2021-22 season and presented clubs with the conclusions of the [Euroleague Basketball Institute meeting with EuroCup head coaches held last week](https://www.euroleaguebasketball.net/news/head-coaches-referees-get-a-jump-on-the-2022-23-season).

Clubs also received reports on athlete health and injury tracking, as well as the progress of the COVID-19 pandemic and the revised protocols to be applied by Euroleague Basketball for the 2022-23 season. 

Euroleague Basketball expresses its condolences to the Real Madrid family upon learning of the death of Pedro Ferrandiz, one of the most decorated coaches in basketball history, who passed away on Thursday.

"Pedro Ferrandiz was a true pioneer of basketball in Europe and one of the greatest coaches ever, not to mention a historian of our game," Euroleague Basketball CEO Jordi Bertomeu said. "We are all indebted to him for his example of class, professionalism and excellence on and off the court. Our condolences go out to his family and Real Madrid. May he rest in peace."

Ferrandiz rode atop Real Madrid's first golden age. Ferrandiz coached only 14 seasons total, all but one at Real Madrid, yet remains among the most successful coaches ever in world basketball.

He led Real to 12 Spanish League and 11 Spanish Cup trophies. Above all, he coached the team to four EuroLeague titles, in 1965, 1966, 1967 and 1974. In three of those seasons, his teams went undefeated. Ferrandiz had previously coached in Real Madrid's youth program and at one other club, CB Hesperia, in the 1950s.

A member of both the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame and the FIBA Hall of Fame, Ferrandiz received dozens of awards, highlighted by the Grand Cross Royal Order of Sports Merit, the most significant sports award in Spain. In 2008, Euroleague Basketball also chose him as one of the 50 most influential contributors to European basketball history.

Not only was he always successful, but Ferrandiz even managed to change basketball's rules. On January 18, 1962, Varese faced Real in a EuroLeague game. With the game tied at 80-80 and most of Real stars fouled out, Ferrandiz told Lorenzo Alocen to score at the basket Real was defending in order to avoid overtime. It was a two-game series, and in the next game, Real easily overcame that two-point loss at home to win the series. FIBA quickly banned scoring intentionally in one's own basket due to that play, but Ferrandiz had been smarter than anyone else. A basketball foundation was created in his honor in 1991 to preserve and promote basketball, publishing books and, at the time, hosting the biggest basketball library in the world.

Ferrandiz was also a successful general manager, as his contacts and basketball knowledge allowed him to sign players like Wayne Hightower, Bob Burgess, Clifford Luyk, Wayne Brabender and Walter Szczerbiak, some of the best players in Real's legendary history. Ferrandiz deserves full credit for Real's trademark run-and-gun basketball style.

Ferrandiz changed Spanish basketball forever and allowed Real to become a European powerhouse. Ferrandiz was 93 at the time of his passing.

Euroleague Basketball mourns Pedro Ferrandiz

Head coaches, referees get a jump on the 2022-23 season

Their day-long sessions drew upon lessons learned from more than 500 games across both competitions last season to identify ways in which the fan experience might be enhanced going forward.

Better understanding of rules interpretations and applications between referees and head coaches, who in turn pass on that information to their players, is part of a process every summer that aims to keep games clean at the same time as it makes them more exciting.

"Basketball is the only sport where you can switch the rules between one season and another to improve the game and make it more fun for the fans," Alex Mumbru, the new head coach of Valencia Basket, said after the meeting. "What's most important is for the fans to come to the gyms and see the best basketball in Europe. So it's important for the coaches, the referees and the clubs to be in agreement. We all want a great show."

Among the agenda items discussed in the meetings were officiating criteria applied in low-post situations and the circumstances surrounding unsportsmanlike foul calls. Another emphasis was off-ball situations with an eye toward enhancing freedom of movement for offensive players.

Jaka Lakovic, Gran Canaria

Being able to offer their direct opinions on how the games should be officiated next season proved a valuable opportunity for all of the head coaches.

"At the end of the day, we play this game for the fans to come in our gym, to support us, to watch and to enjoy the games," Dusan Alimpijevic, head coach of Frutti Extra Bursaspor, said. "Everything that EuroLeague and EuroCup are doing right now goes in that direction -- to improve the game, to make it more attractive, quicker and faster. For all of us coaches, it's really important to be involved in this and to affect somehow these decisions."

Just like the coaches will take conclusions from meetings straight to their players and staffs in training camps, next steps for the officiating department include educating the referees on what was agreed this week at the collective's annual preseason clinic, to be held in late August.

"The consistent evolution of the game, both how it is played and how it is officiated, explains why basketball is so dynamic and why we strive to get ahead of the curve each summer," Richard Stokes, Senior Director of Officiating at Euroleague Basketball, said. "Having the coaches contribute like this now, early in the process, is essential to the goal of sharpening what we all do to make the game better season to season."

Mazys Maksvytis, Zalgiris Kaunas

With a focus on improving the on-court action for fans, head coaches from the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and 7DAYS EuroCup held their annual meetings with the Euroleague Basketball officiating department over two days in Barcelona this week.

On Thursday, June 16, 2022, the Euroleague Commercial Assets Shareholders Executive Board met to review and confirm the provisional lists of teams that will participate in the 2022-23 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and the 2022-23 7DAYS EuroCup.

#### Decisions taken include:

#### 1. Teams from the Russian Federation are suspended from participation in the 2022-23 competitions due to events derived from the ongoing war in Ukraine.

The decision is taken due to the increasing difficulties for teams to play games against teams from that country, which include air travel restrictions and prohibitions or other limitations to issuing visas to Russian residents. This decision also took into consideration similar ones taken by other international team sports organisations like the IOC, UEFA, FIBA, EHF (handball), EHF (hockey) and FIVB, amongst others, as well as statements made by 37 European ministers of sports who asserted that Russian Federation teams should be banned from competing in their countries. Executive Board members also considered that protecting the integrity and regularity of the competition and the safety of all stakeholders is the ultimate priority and should not be put at risk.

#### 2. Review and approval of the list of participating teams in the 2022-23 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague:

• ALBA Berlin

• Anadolu Efes Istanbul

• AS Monaco

• AX Armani Exchange Milan

• Baskonia Vitoria Gasteiz

• Crvena Zvezda mts Belgrade

• FC Barcelona

• FC Bayern Munich

• Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul

• LDLC Asvel Villeurbanne

• Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv

• Olympiacos Piraeus

• Panathinaikos OPAP Athens

• Partizan NIS Belgrade

• Real Madrid

• Valencia Basket

• Virtus Segafredo Bologna

• Zalgiris Kaunas

#### 3. Review and approval of the list of participating teams in the 2022-23 7DAYS EuroCup:

• Buducnost Voli Podgorica

• Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana

• Dolomiti Energia Trento

• Frutti Extra Bursaspor

• Gran Canaria

• Hamburg Towers

• Hapoel Tel Aviv

• Mincidelice JL Bourg en Bresse

• Joventut Badalona

• Lietkabelis Panevezys

• London Lions

• Pallacanestro Brescia

• Paris Basketball

• Prometey

• Promitheas Patras

• Ratiopharm Ulm

• Slask Wroclaw

• Turk Telekom Ankara

• U-BT Cluj-Napoca

• Umana Reyer Venice

Participation of Russian Federation teams suspended for one season

2022-23 EuroLeague and EuroCup participating teams confirmed


Jaycee Carroll, who ended up deciding not to play the 2021-22 season, was honored center-court before Real's Spanish League playoff game against Bitci Baskonia Vitoria-Gasteiz. Carroll leaves the game of basketball as a two-time EuroLeague champion and one of the most prolific three-point and free throw shooters in competition history.

Carroll, 39, played a full decade with Real Madrid and has worn Real's jersey more than any other foreign player in club history. He joined the team before the start of the 2011-12 campaign, and in his time with the club Carroll has helped Real win two EuroLeague titles in 2015 and 2018, reaching two other championship games in 2012 and 2013. 

He ends his career tied for 22nd place in games played in EuroLeague history with 274. Only two American players, Kyle Hines (357) and James Gist (297), have appeared in more EuroLeague games than him. Carroll ranks ninth all-time with 437 three-pointers, which he has done on 42.1% accuracy. He is the fourth most accurate free throw shooter all-time (91.2%) and rank 20th this century with 2,607 career points. 

He has also lifted the Spanish League title five times, and won six Spanish Copa del Rey crowns, as well as the 2015 Intercontinental Cup. Before joining Real Madrid, Carroll spent two seasons with Gran Canaria, competing in the 7DAYS EuroCup.



Saturday was a special occasion in the Spanish capital as one of the purest shooters in competition history and the two-time Turkish Airlines EuroLeague champion officially retired.

Jaycee Carroll officially retires

Euroleague Basketball is pleased to partner with MindFly Ltd. to create, process and distribute First-Person-View (FPV) content from the point of view of the players during Turkish Airlines EuroLeague games starting next season.

EuroLeague teams with MindFly to create FPV content

MindFly will deliver FPV content to the EuroLeague's digital channels and in the future enable this content to be tokenized as NFTs through appointed vendors. In doing so, the EuroLeague becomes the first professional sports league to offer such innovation to our fans.

"We are excited that we've found a First-Person-View solution that's 100% safe for the players and can deliver high-quality, stable footage for viewers," Alex Ferrer Kristjansson, Euroleague Basketball's Brand and Communications Senior Director, said. "MindFly's FPV solution will transport fans right onto the court during games and training sessions and deepen the relationships between fans, players and clubs."

MindFly uses AI-powered bodycams and an AI cloud platform to provide a seamless, automated, end-to-end solution, from recording through processing and delivering professional-quality, fully-stabilized and ready-made HD video highlights to every digital and traditional media endpoint. For every sport and from any court without additional crew or infrastructure.

As Eran Tal, CEO and Co-Founder of MindFly, succinctly puts it: "You wear the vest, we do the rest."

Euroleague Basketball CEO met with many of the hundreds of media attending the 2022 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four in Belgrade on Friday to discuss the state of affairs in the company.

Jordi Bertomeu meets the Final Four media

Jordi Bertomeu - Final Four Belgrade 2022 - EB21

He is survived by his sons Jan, Jiri and Tomas, two of whom were at the Final Four in Belgrade when given the news, and many grandchildren. Jiri Zidek, Jr., a former EuroLeague champion and a commentator for EuroLeague TV, said he would stay to work the games on Sunday because his father "would want me to finish the job."

"His life was basketball to last day," Jiri Jr., said. "He loved basketball more than any man I know."

Mr. Zidek spent 17 seasons on the court as a player and another seven on the sidelines coaching. He was a Final Four pioneer, leading Slavia Prague to both editions of the event when the format was experimented with in the 1960s. In 1966, he was the top scorer in the championship game with 22 points in a loss to Olimpia Milan in Bologna, Italy. A year later, in 1967, he and Slavia finished third in Madrid, Spain. Mr. Zidek then led Slavia to back-to-back appearances in the Saporta Cup finals. In 1968, they lost 89-82 to AEK despite his 31 points before what was long considered to have been the biggest crowd in basketball history, an estimated 80,000 fans at the historic, outdoor Panathinaikos Stadium in Athens. Finally, in 1969, he and Slavia got to lift the Saporta Cup trophy title, beating Dinamo Tbilisi 80-74 in Vienna, Austria, with Mr. Zidek scoring 15 points.

A six-time Czechoslovakian League champion, Mr. Zidek was also a star of that country's national team. He was a member of the all-tournament team after leading Czechoslovakia to a silver medal at EuroBasket 1967 and followed that with a bronze medal at EuroBasket 1969. Zidek also competed at the 1972 Olympic Games.

Euroleague Basketball joins the family of European basketball in mourning Jiri Zidek Sr., long considered the greatest basketball player in the history of the Czech Republic, who passed away early Sunday after a lengthy illness.

Euroleague Basketball mourns Jiri Zidek Sr.

Jiri Zidek - Final Four Prague 2006 - EB05

Euroleague Basketball has announced the launch of a new initiative to work with select Gen Z fans and trendsetters to effectively identify the latest and most disruptive trends in an ever-changing sports ecosystem, integrate their key areas of interest and ultimately drive engagement with the fans of the future.

The first edition of the [Euroleague FanZ Lab](https://fanzlab.euroleague.net/) will gather a representative group of 121 participants between 18 and 25 years old from 11 cities in eight different countries. The participants will be chosen from the applications received and will participate from February to May in a series of creativity and ideation workshops and digital sessions conducted through innovative research methods.

"We are thrilled to launch this new project as part of the Euroleague's DNA is to constantly evolve and provide all of our fans with the best possible experiences," Alex Ferrer Kristjansson, Marketing and Communication Senior Director at Euroleague Basketball, stated. "Opening this dialogue and having the opportunity to receive direct feedback from our emerging fans will definitively allow us to connect and enhance loyalty with the fans of the future, showing once again that basketball is a transgenerational sport."

Creative, pioneering and critical thinking skills plus a strong interest in basketball or sports in general are some of the qualities by which applicants will be chosen to help advise the league on a wide variety of topics important to their generation. [Apply now!](https://fanzlab.euroleague.net/)

According to the GWI Core survey, basketball is the only major sport that is growing among Gen Z across 19 European markets, having experienced an increase of 10% in the number of younger fans who follow the sport in the last three years (Q3 2021 vs. Q3 2018). Moreover, interest in the EuroLeague, in particular, has grown 25% among Gen Z members over the last two seasons in FanZ Lab-selected countries, according to Nielsen Sports.

Young fans, trendsetters to advise EB on marketing, content, engagement, merchandising and events

Fans aged 18 to 25 can apply

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