Basketball: Cash crisis leaves England team facing uncertain international future

England Basketball's dire financial situation has put paid to the immediate future of the senior men's international team, who have not been entered for the 2005 European Championships.

A board meeting of EB, the sport's national governing body which is responsible for more than 14,000 members and 800 clubs, was told that they could not afford to enter, although the registration deadline had, in fact, passed on 31 December.

Betty Codona, EB chairperson, confirmed there was insufficient cash to enter the team following the decision by Sport England that their exchequer funding to EB could no longer be used for senior national teams.

"That meant we would have to find between £60,000 and £100,000 from general funds and we couldn't see a way forward," Codona said. "We are in a tight financial situation."

England's participation in the European Championships has forced the cash-strapped EB to provide a programme for the senior men. EB's accounts for the year to May 2002 revealed an international overspend of £60,000 "because [the] international [committee] was working to an unauthorised budget which was discovered by the chairperson [Codona] in March 2002."

The decision probably spells the end of Laslo Nemeth's reign as coach when his contract expires in July, if he does not resign beforehand.

At least constructing a budget for the national team will be one less administrative worry for the new chief executive Keith Mair, who arrives from New Zealand to take up his post at EB's Leeds offices on Monday. But, as a former Olympic and World Championship coach to the 'Tall Blacks', Mair will surely despair at this latest twist.

Mair said last week: "English men have the talent to perform at the highest level internationally." It is hard to see, however, when they will next have the opportunity.

England's international history began with a 45-37 win over Germany in Lille in 1938, but January's 92-84 defeat of Portugal, which closed the 2003 European Cham- pionship, is likely to be their last fixture for the foreseeable future.