The beginning of a surprising and blessed relationship: The director of the league in Israel and the director of the French league have been in contact recently and are working on a fruitful cooperation that will benefit both parties.
The director of the French league administration, Michel Mimran, is currently visiting Israel, and is holding talks with the director general of the administration, Shlomi Perry, to expand the relationship.
Yesterday (Monday) Mimran was in the game between Hapoel Tel Aviv and Maccabi Rishon and in the coming days will hold a series of talks with senior figures in Israeli basketball.
"Basketball in Israel is more than significant than here in France, so I came here to study and I enjoy what I see," Mimran says in an interview with Israel Today.
"There are differences between the two countries and we are trying to learn from the league in France to Israel and vice versa, to help both sides develop."
Mimran, a tradition-keeping Jew, worked for nine years as director of the marketing department of the Paris Saint-Germain luxury group.
Recently, due to the difficulties caused by the Corona crisis, especially in the French league, he was appointed general manager of the local basketball league to help it rise in marketing and economics. On Friday he will give a lecture to representatives of Premier League teams on managerial and marketing issues.
"The corona has affected us strongly," he says.
"For 18 months some closures and competitions were canceled and all last year we played without fans so it was difficult for the media, TV and everyone. I think it was the biggest crisis that world sport has ever known and we are still in the recovery phase. People are returning to halls We learned a lot during the closures how to find solutions for the fans and how to broadcast games for the benefit of those who do not come. We were afraid that there would be clubs that would close because of the situation, And we managed to prevent clubs from being deleted, which is the most important thing. "
How happy are you that in the last two years we have seen Israeli players coming to play in France?
"We have a lot of good American players in the league, so of course it is important and interesting for us when players come from other countries, especially from Israel. I am very impressed with how important basketball is in Israel, so it is good for us that players come from there. I hope they will come later."
"Israel Today" has learned for the first time that one of the ideas that came up recently in talks between the two bodies is the organization of showcase tournaments in which Israeli groups will fly to Paris, and the administrations are examining the issue and the associated economic costs.
Also, one game a week from the French league is already broadcast on the sports channel, and now there are tests whether a French media body will want to acquire the broadcasting rights of the Israeli league and broadcast several games a week in the country.
"Everyone knows that Israel is an important and significant nation in the world of basketball and there is serious progress. The clubs are developing, the league is progressing and the national teams are successful and that is why I am here," Mimran concludes.