I am really surprised that basketball players in Lebanon are still quiet over what’s happening recently. The Lebanese Federation may be obliged to take a decision soon that will literally kill basketball in Lebanon and harm first and foremost the Lebanese players. As you can see from the report, All the teams (except Riyadi) want 3 foreign players instead of 2 and their arguments are as follows:
Allowing three foreign players:
– will increase competitiveness.
– allow the Lebanese players to improve.
– lower the budgets of all the teams.
What they are basically saying is that Lebanese basketball players are overpriced and that they’d rather overpay one additional foreign player than invest in Lebanese. Honestly speaking, this is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard and that can ever be implemented. If anything, the teams should allow only one foreign player and the federation can always bring down the salaries for Lebanese players if they find them outrageous and high (which they are not).
If the teams are suffering financially, it’s because they’ve been spending massively on foreign players (instead of spending on young talents) in the past years in order to clinch the title, and I am sure they will do the same as soon as their financial situation improves and spend even more on foreign players since they will be allowed three.
I am really glad the president of the FLB Walid Nassar is against allowing three foreign players and I really hope he doesn’t change his mind and look for alternatives. Speaking of alternatives, here’s what I suggest:
1- Set a yearly budget range (between 750K and 1.5M) that all teams must abide by.
2- Allow 1 or 2 foreign players only and LIMIT the spending on foreign players to 25% of the total budget.
3- Force the teams to implement a 3-year financial plan.
4- Form a committee to follow up on the team’s spending and penalize those who fail to show a positive balance within 5 years.
That’s one of the ways to improve Basketball in Lebanon and I am sure there are other alternatives. Asking for three foreign players will bring the game 10 years back.
