Bad news comes from France for the health of local basketball, which also involves the two top teams participating in the of EuroLeague: Aswell e Monaco.
The problems had already emerged in recent days when rumors emerged about the financial uncertainties of Skweek, the network that broadcasts in France broadcasts as much as LNB, the French top league, as of EuroLeague. The broadcaster has an agreement to broadcast the races until 2030, but there are problems with the production services provider, 21 Production, a subsidiary of the group L'Equipe. The unpaid amounts are several million euros.
To try to put water on the fire, the president of the LNB Philippe Ausseur intervened:
“The topic concerns Skweek and L'Équipe and the content of what L'Équipe produces on behalf of Skweek. Unlike other sports, the (financial) balance of the League and our clubs does not depend on the television contract but we are sorry if this affects the visibility of our sport."
Whose property is it Skweek is from FEDCOM Media, a subsidiary of FEDCOM, whose president, Aleksej Fedorychev, has been the owner of the Monaco. FEDCOM is paying dearly for the blocking of funds due to the war in Ukraine, so much so that Skweek has paid only 2 of the 7 million expected for Asvel in the current season.
Let's understand, with the help of BeBasket, what could happen to the two teams.
Asvel towards downsizing?
In the face of a fear in the stop paymentsi, the Lyon club has already requested a loan to pay the salaries of March and April. Tony Parker, which is having difficulty raising funds, has already announced that the budget for the AVEL women's team for next season will be reduced downwards. The fear is that even the most important players in the men's team (De Colo and Lauvergne above all) could decide to move on at the end of the season.
The (already shaky) future in of EuroLeague di Aswell could get the final blow from this story: if there aren't enough resources to build a capable team, the EuroLeague board could think about replacing the Lyon club. On the other hand, the exponential growth of Paris it certainly doesn't leave the managers of Europe's top competition indifferent. All to add to the claim for damages by former coach TJ Parker, which would further undermine the club's finances.
Munich: what happens now?
Even Monaco is not exempt from the difficulties of FEDCOM, owner of the Principality club. In recent days the French players were still waiting for their February salaries, which were then regularly paid. Foreign players, at least for now, are not affected by this problem. The pitfalls faced by FEDCOM in moving capital to Europe lead to great caution, although the owners still intend to grow the club. Thinking about the market, everything could lead to the sensational farewells of Mike James e John Brown, despite the owners' desire to renovate both to make them cardinal points of the development project.