Uruguayan Basketball League: the great show gets underway in all neighborhoods

The dream and illusion of 14 teams gets underway this Monday. Begins the Uruguayan Basketball League 2021-2022 And it does so with news because the coronavirus pandemic gave way and the tournament begins to walk the path to normality with the return of the matches to the gyms of the participating clubs.

Added to this, the expectation of the fans and the objectives of each institution make the contest already have its enormous appeal because it is the workhorse of the Uruguayan Federation of BasketBall (FUBB), since the League is the maximum showcase of this sport.

The flagship product

Uruguayan Basketball League Trophy 2021-22
The trophy of the Uruguayan Basketball League 2021-22. Photo: Marcelo Bonjour

“It was always the star product of Uruguayan basketball and we attacked there. Unlike rugby, for example, which first focused on the national team and developed its image through Los Teros and then went to the clubs, we did the other way around and it was through the Uruguayan League because it was what we had, given that the national team had not played in Uruguay for more than 20 years. And that was in part our plan and the strategy that we developed. The League had an important growth and therefore it will always have special attention from us because it is also the basis of the strategic plan that we have ”, he told Ovation Ricardo Vairo, president of the FUBB.

In any case, at present the Uruguayan League coexists with the national team because – as explained by the head of the FUBB – “with the new governance regime and the change in the dispute system of the Qualifiers, the team was also transformed in the star product and there we seek to regain that sense of belonging that had been lost over the years. We started playing at home again and that was key. That is why today both the League and the national team are two fundamental pillars in our organization and as I always say, there is no successful sport in which its main tournament or selection is not successful. And that can be seen here because the Uruguayan League continues to grow and is without a doubt the product that we must pay more attention to ”.

Ricardo Vairo, president of the Uruguayan Federation of BasketBall. Photo: El País Archive.
Ricardo Vairo, president of the Uruguayan Federation of BasketBall. Photo: El País Archive.

And when it comes to growth, the LUB has been the one that marked basketball in our country in recent years. With ups and downs in the organization and obstacles that it had to overcome, the tournament was consolidated and is heading towards 20 years of life.

ORGANIZATION

The FUBB presented its strategic plan through FIBA ​​Plus

The Uruguayan Federation of BasketBall, through the FIBA ​​Plus program that aims to professionalize various areas of this sport in each member association, presented its Strategic Plan for the period 2021-2023.

FIBA’s goal is to empower national federations so that they can reach their full potential in all their areas. In this sense, the FUBB had an audit to identify goals, objectives, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats and above all, to reach a mission and vision that includes goals and objectives set up to the year 2023, but with the intention of leaving a legacy.

In turn, FIBA ​​Plus will serve as a fundamental platform for the FUBB to improve its organizational capacity, but also to professionalize various areas and be able to achieve better business units.

The return to the neighborhoods

The 2021-2022 edition will have some news compared to the previous ones that took place in the middle of the coronavirus pandemic and the most important thing is the return of basketball to the clubs; around the neighborhood.

For that, the FUBB worked a lot with the institutions because there is something clear: the sanitary protocol that the federation designed with the requests of the Ministry of Public Health and the National Sports Secretariat must be strictly respected.

“The first thing I can say is that there was a lot of work, because returning to semi-normality (that’s what I call it because we will have 40% capacity) is a very big challenge and there are logistical complications, because before the pandemic we had a staff in the collection staff that now no longer works. Now the show is practically in the hands of the clubs and it is officials of the institutions who are going to be working. We only do a control of what is stipulated and the logistics that were assumed. And on that side the key word is challenge. It is a beautiful challenge because we understand that the teams are in line with the professionalization that we at the FUBB seek in all the activities it has and from that point of view it is very good to have instances like these working together because it helps us a lot to move forward. that way ”, he explained to Ovation Sergio Benitez, manager of the FUBB.

Sergio Benitez
Sergio Benítez, manager of the FUBB. Photo: Marcelo Bonjour

Another important aspect in the return of the public to the gyms is that in many cases the tenants will not be able to receive visiting fans due to the capacity, something that also contributes to the control of security on the stages. “In many cases the visiting bias will not be there and that helps us to have a better control of security to a certain extent, but we know that in other fields there will be fans of the two leading clubs and in that sense we have to be careful about the spectacle, but also when it comes to complying with the sanitary protocols approved by the authorities of the Ministry of Public Health and the National Sports Secretariat ”, added Benítez.

In the return of fans to closed gyms, two extremely important aspects must be met: the use of a mask at all times and social distancing.

Regarding this, the FUBB manager remarked: “We had a lot of meetings with the participating clubs of the Uruguayan League and we always emphasized that because it already happened to us that there was a warning after the El Metro matches at the Peñarol Palace. That is why we must be clear in communicating with the clubs and between them and their fans at the time of the matches so that the tournament has a correct and normal development ”.

That is why for the FUBB the beginning of the 2021-2022 edition of the Uruguayan Basketball League will be a great challenge in which this organization embarked together with the participating clubs and the institutions will play a fundamental role as of this Monday so that the tournament may have the expected return to normalcy, which was greatly affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

The ball of the Uruguayan League 2021-22
The ball of the Uruguayan League 2021-22. Photo: Marcelo Bonjour

The vision of Rubén Magnano

After having directed the Uruguayan team in the Canadian Pre-Olympic, Ruben Magnano He is preparing to face a new process at the helm of La Celeste in the face of the Qualifiers for the 2023 World Cup that will be played in Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia.

Knowledgeable about Argentine basketball like few others, the 67-year-old from Cordoba spoke with Ovation about what the Uruguayan Basketball League means and said that “it is a feeling that one has experienced, especially because I come from a country where I saw the beginning of the National League, the development it had and how that was the element that allowed it to grow and give the possibility to a number of players. It even served as a springboard for them to go to play in different parts of the world because it is the true showcase, not only for showing players, but also for developing the sport. It is a very important and essential platform in the growth of basketball and in my case as a coach of the national team, to enjoy it in the good sense of the word ”.

Ruben Magnano in training for the Uruguayan basketball team Photo: Fernando Ponzetto
Rubén Magnano. Photo: Fernando Ponzetto

Magnano also highlighted that “those who are going to play elsewhere are undoubtedly born within this League and that is the true value, because it serves as a mirror for everyone, for the structure of the club and also to develop that passion that this game awakens in us. sport, because the League is an essential leg for the growth of basketball ”.

Finally, the coach of the team spoke of the social role that the Uruguayan League has and closed by saying: “I title it as the show, because it is a true show in which the actors show all their capabilities and the people in front of a good show, consume. Consume that show, consume the game, the sport and everything that has to do with marketing and sponsors give it growth so that the tournament can continue to improve ”.

And to all this we must add the effort of each of the 14 participating clubs, the investment to put the team on the field and be competitive, be a protagonist and dream of the title of champion. For all this and more, the Uruguayan Basketball League will have its long-awaited return in the midst of semi-normality, with the return of the public to the gyms, the party in the neighborhood and above all, the great show. Time to play.

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Uruguayan Basketball League: the great show gets underway in all neighborhoods