On Wednesday, 23 May 2012, Esther Queraltó, the Secretary General of the Basketball Clubs Association of Spain (ACB), gave a lecture to UIC law students on the challenges of the forthcoming amendment to the Sports Law and the relationship between the federations and the professional football and basketball leagues.
During her talk, Esther Queraltó spoke about some of the most controversial matters that will be addressed by the new law, as well as some of the aspects that will not be included, such as the promotion of female sports. One of the points considered most relevant by the speaker, given the current economic crisis, was the creation of financial control systems, since almost 95% of the money spent in sport goes to the players. Queraltó said, “This situation is untenable: the remaining 5% is not enough to cover travel expenses, training costs, etc. But it is spent anyway”.
Queraltó went on to describe the structure of professional sports in Spain, which consists of federations on one hand and professional leagues on the other. After outlining this organizational model, Queraltó described the organizational model of the ACB. She said, “It is not just a body that organizes competitions, but one that cares about business excellence in professional basketball and its clubs”.
After comparing the two organizational models, Queraltó concluded by saying, “It is of paramount importance that all Spanish sports clubs have a consultant on legal matters, such as the recruitment of players and sponsorship agreements”.
