The new president of the Bulgarian Basketball Federation Konstantin Papazov, who succeeded Georgi Glushkov, will take an example from his colleagues from volleyball and rhythmic gymnastics.
„The most important thing, I have indicated it in two main points, the development of coaches, this is extremely important. Tomorrow is the first initiative with my contacts and thanks to the help of the federation. 12 of our coaches will be trained by specialists from the Euroleague. This will happen in the next 5 years. The second thing we need to do is increase the number of children who are involved in basketball. This cannot be done with a magic wand, there are obstacles that we must overcome and we will overcome. I keep saying that we have an extremely valuable diamond in our hands in the person of Alexander Vezenkov, the best basketball player in Europe. We must make the most of the fact that fate has given us the chance for this player to be Bulgarian“, Papazov commented on the program “Arena Sport“ on BNT.
He gave as an example the management of rhythmic gymnastics and volleyball in Bulgaria in recent years and said that the basketball federation should follow in their footsteps.
“I want it to be known that after football, the greatest sport in the world is basketball and we must treat it with the necessary respect. I will fight to receive adequate assistance from the state, to be adequately present in Bulgarian sports. Sport is a phenomenon, only in sports and music can you gather 70,000 different people in one stadium. This is a social phenomenon. For Bulgarian basketball in these five years I will fight to create a better organization. We must copy volleyball in every way, no matter how ugly it sounds. If volleyball can have results and our children can reach world heights through volleyball, then there is no reason why we can't do it through basketball. So something is wrong with us. We shouldn't be jealous of volleyball, but believe that if there can be a sport like volleyball, why doesn't it happen here too? We need to analyze and recognize the superiority of volleyball and look for our place under the sun“, added the former coach and president of the Levski basketball team.
Papazov once again shared that the most important thing in basketball now is to have unity.
“We are very different, but everyone with their own strength must be part of the management. If I am alone, I will be a winner at the sixth level. I am not afraid to share success with anyone, if the goal is good for Bulgarian basketball. I have blown my head that I am naive, I am not. If someone wants to lie to me, let them lie to me. The congress was genuine, the campaign was correct, there were no attacks between the candidates, each of the three has their own undeniable qualities to be part of the management of Bulgarian basketball“, Papazov assured.
The new president of the Bulgarian Basketball Federation said that he will work to ensure that Bulgaria hosts the European Basketball Championship for women in 2029 and for men in 2033.