Women's basketball fills the halls in France, especially since Les Bleues' silver medal at the London Games. Euro 2013, organized on French territory from June 15 to 30, will provide proof of this. But the event did not convince any sponsor. Jean-Pierre Siutat, the president of the French Basketball Federation (FFBB), revealed this to FrancsJeux.
FrancsJeux : Today we are exactly three weeks before the start of the Women's Euro 2013 in France. Where is the preparation for the event?
Jean-Pierre Siutat : The organizing committee is on schedule. His team is currently working almost day and night. Everything will be ready. Some rooms used for the tournament were built or modernized especially for the occasion, such as in Trélazé or Orchies. Their inauguration has taken place or will take place in the coming days. As for the ticketing, it worked at full capacity. For the French team's matches, we are trying to recover tickets made available to FIBA, because everything has been sold and the demand could not be entirely satisfied. Euro 2013 will be sold out.
Speaking of venues, why did you choose to play the matches in small or medium-sized towns, such as Vannes, Trélazé, Orchies or even the town of Mouilleron-le-Captif, near La Roche-sur-Yon?
I have already attended enough European Championships to know that playing in venues that are too big can be counter-advertising for women's basketball. Rooms with 4500/5000 seats for the French team, and around 2 to 3000 for other matches, constitute the right format.
You ignored Paris…
We launched a call for applications from French cities two years ago. I can say today that the Euro will be contested in the municipalities which really wanted the event. Paris is not one of them. But we can't afford it anyway. Renting Bercy alone costs €50 per day.
Is this above your budget?
Largely, yes. A women's basketball Euro costs 6 million euros. But revenues are limited, because the organizing country does not recover anything from television rights, and it is entitled to only one private partner. For two years, we have allocated one euro per year per licensee to the event budget.
Has the crisis had an impact on the organization of the Euro?
I will give you some information that may surprise you: we did not find the only private partner that the specifications allowed us. And yet, we had established an entry ticket of €200. So, either we are bad, or we have been victims of the crisis, or women's sport really does not interest potential sponsors.
After two women's European Championships and another men's European Championships organized in France over the last fifteen years, are you now thinking about a candidacy for a World Cup?
A men’s World Cup costs 45 million euros. For France, it’s overpriced. Perhaps we will go, but certainly not alone. We would have neither the means nor the rooms. As for a Women's World Cup, it is also very expensive, and the presence of the American team would force us to aim for second place at best.
And yet, you are cited among the federation presidents most enthusiastic about the idea of Paris bidding for the 2024 Games...
That's right. I am one of those who think that French sport must be ambitious. We have undeniable expertise in organizing major sporting events. But we lack the means.
