FIBA invited the best European basketball club of the 20th Century to participate in the next season of the newly established Champions League
The glory days for Split Basketball Club are left in the past, but as the team has managed to reach the second place on the league table, and played the semi-finals in the play-offs, FIBA sent an invitation to Split for Champions League participation. On May 22, 2017. the club manager, Robert Andrijić talked to Slobodna Dalmacija about the matter.
KK Split, also known as Jugoplastika, the name that is well known to all basketball lovers all around the world, has been suffering with financial problems for more than a decade now. In the last few years, the City of Split injected substantial amounts of money to the club’s account, but the foreclosure process is not even close to being over yet.
The new management cut the expenses, and it seems they found some balance, so the club got closer to the top tier of the Croatian basketball, but it is not even close to the position needed to participate in the European competitions.
The problem for the club management is the fact that the local elections are in the process, and they cannot make the decision on an issue this big without consulting the City Council about future financing.
The deadline for the Champions League registration is June 23, 2017, and as the City Council is not going to be constituted by that date, leaving many questions about the club’s future open to dispute.
Mr. Andrijić has a grave view on the issue: “We need to set the foundations for long-term financial sustainability, regardless of the short-term adjustment required in the team’s finances if we decide to participate in the Champions League. The city should be taking care of the club’s fundaments: the youth academy and the infrastructure. Our senior team can be competitive only if we secure the investment project using the Gripe Hall, which is given to the Club by the City Council for next 24 years.”
Local Split basketball fans and the great many more located abroad who remember the young boys in yellow shirts who took Europe by storm back in the day hope that there will be enough good will in the Split City Council to adequately help the club. Also, they hope that the Club Board will be up to the task of getting the club back onto the path of glory.
