FIBA demanding home nations create single British body

ONE OF the most influential members of the International Olympic Committee has demanded that a single governing body in Britain is established for basketball as part of a deal to grant Great Britain a place at the Olympic Games.

Patrick Baumann, the secretary-general of FIBA, the International Basketball Federation, has tabled a vote next March on whether the hosts should be granted automatic entry ahead of next summer's qualification process. With the world championships now over, the thorny issue is now one of his chief preoccupations. And the Swiss-based powerbroker is openly using the possibility of exclusion from London 2012 as leverage.

Following through on that threat would be a controversial, and risky, move. With both Britain's men's and women's teams qualifying for next summer's European Championship finals, it could reverse the progress which has been made on the court. That is not enough, Baumann states. He wants a radical overhaul of the way the sport is organised in order to translate its oft-cited grassroots popularity into sustainable success at club and international level.

In a letter, seen by Scotland on Sunday, from Baumann to Basketball Scotland vice-chairman Bill McInnes, Baumann confirms that the informal structure that sees GB sides fielded at senior and U-20 level "cannot be continued after the Games in 2012." His idyll is that Scotland - along with England and Wales - is subsumed for the greater good.

Scotland, England and Wales combined forces in 2005 to form a Great Britain national team in preparation for the London Olympics, but retained their own identities as governing bodies. "There needs to be one boss, one organisation that leads," insisted Baumann. "I don't think that means the three federations as such need to disappear. They have their role, but it must be under one umbrella, with clearly defined responsibilities on developing basketball. We need to have one partner that has the clear vision so that when it comes to the table with FIBA or the British Olympic Association, they have the credibility to say what is good for basketball in England, Scotland and Wales."

Coming from a close ally of IOC President Jacques Rogge, it would set a precedent which might threaten the entry of Scotland teams in other sports. Baumann is fully aware that his is a sensitive stance. "But a very practical one," he claimed. Ultimately, his sole concern is that there is a long-term post-Olympic legacy. "All the stakeholders in basketball have to have a clear idea of what they want to do on the Monday after the Games are over," he added.

"How do they want to participate in the life of international basketball? How is their league going to strengthen?"

One senior British Basketball official confirmed that detailed plans will be devised to satisfy FIBA before the vote on 2012 takes place next March. "I'm relatively confident they can achieve it," Baumann stated.

"But it does require some creative thinking." x