Basketball: England say no to Europe

THE English Basket Ball Association's flirtation with attracting many of the world's top national teams ended yesterday when they withdrew their bid to stage the 1995 European Championship finals, writes Duncan Hooper.

'Finance is the bottom line,' said the EBBA chief executive, David Ransom, who, as a former national team coach, will be as disappointed as any at losing the chance to bring teams such as Lithuania, Croatia, Spain, Italy and Greece to England for the finals which rank behind only the Olympics and World Championships in prestige.

The EBBA was in partnership with the events team of Birmingham City Council and the intention was to stage games at the National Exhibition Centre and the National Indoor Arena.

With local authorities creaking under the weight of recession the championships needed to raise finance through ticket sales and sponsorship. However, even assuming England reached the quarter-finals, which in that company would be far from assured, the EBBA could not be sure of sufficient revenue to make the event viable.

Ransom and representatives from Birmingham City Council will study the organisation and financing of this summer's finals in Germany with a view to renewing their bid for the 1997 finals. The international federation will decide tomorrow on the venue for the 1995 finals.