Earthquake in Colombian basketball: clubs demand clear accounts from the Federation

The professional clubs Titans of Barranquilla, Pirates of Bogotá, Búcaros of Bucaramanga, Corsairs of Cartagena and Condors of Cundinamarca They demand clarity in the management of the resources of the Colombian Basketball Federation and they will meet to take extreme measures with a view to the next Professional League 2024-I.

Leaders are concerned about the present of this sport in the country and in a letter they expressed ten points on which emphasis will be placed.
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Serious problems

The clubs warn that the Professional Divisionaccumulated debts that forced them to make decisions such as playing the knockout phase in localized venues to cover part of that deficit.

However, they warn that they could not “monitor the accounts where the resources obtained by the DPB are managed, to date we do not have a report that allows us to know how much these debts amount to. Without that information we do not consider it prudent to make decisions about the format or the start of this semester's league, which is one of the items on the agenda of this assembly.”

The letter warns that “it is important to make known that in the report presented by the commissioner on August 25, 2023, the DPB accumulated debts of $1,796,630,132 of which $1,490,159,680 are owed to the Commissioner, JOHN MARIO TEJADA. Furthermore, not all commitments from the last championship could be covered, as some income included in the budget was not received. “Therefore, the amount owed by the DPB to date must be even higher.”

In the third point, the clubs point out that it is key that they present at the assembly the projected income of the DPB for 2024 and the strategy to manage new resources that allow us to cover the division's debts and sustainably organize the 2024 championships. We also ask that the clubs that were part of the commercial commission that was created be allowed to present proposals for new sponsors that have been managed. This point is not on the agenda, but it must be included, without information on projected income and without the certainty that we will pay all our obligations on time, it is not possible to make responsible decisions about the next tournament.

There is more

“Protected by a confidentiality clause that should not apply to club presidents, the commissioner has repeatedly refused to provide a copy of the contracts signed by the DPB and the Colombian Basketball Federation with sponsors and suppliers, despite of the clubs' insistent requests to obtain them. However, we have had to comply with contractual obligations totally unknown to the clubs,” they indicated.

And they added: “We cannot continue allowing DPB clubs to repeatedly and systematically fail to comply with the salaries and social benefits of players, coaches, agent commissions, among other obligations; and that they participate in the championships without any consequences. We are going to present several cases and complaints from players, coaches and agents in the assembly; We, as clubs that fulfill our obligations, cannot continue participating in the leagues if these clubs are not forced to pay their debts and sanctions are established so that this practice, with which we do not agree, is never repeated again in the future. good for our athletes and Colombian basketball.”

The last

The signatories who have duly paid the value of the token established in the statutes warned that we will not accept that other clubs continue participating without complying with this mandatory requirement demanded by the Ministry of Sports to grant sports recognition. If the DPB continues to allow such clubs to continue participating and having a voice and vote in the assemblies without having paid the full value of their chips, we will study our position as a block so that the non-compliant clubs comply.

“The agenda includes a point to define the involvement of staff for the DPB. In previous leagues, this staff included people who later served as representatives of some clubs in the assemblies and in a clear conflict of interest these people voted affirmatively on the commissioner's proposals. An example of this conflict of interest is that the son of Mr. Commissioner is the president of one of the DPB clubs. If this practice is insisted on and not on involving independent people who ensure the development of all clubs equally and the growth of the league in a transparent manner, we will also make the respective complaints,” the communication reads.

“Given the efforts made to denounce and change the bad practices and mismanagement of all the facts reported in this statement, some clubs have been subject to retaliation and at least one club president has received threats to his personal integrity; “a situation that we repudiate and that has been duly reported to the competent authorities,” the clubs indicated.

Finally, they warn: “We understand that it is time to put an independent commissioner who has no ties to any club at the head of the DPB. It is time to have an independent administration that gives guarantees to all of us equally. This concern has been expressed in different assemblies and it has been repeatedly ignored.”

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