New budget, new venue, new partnerships… Oleksiy Yefimov, CEO of Monaco, wants the Roca Team to remain at the highest European level
After a historic first season in the Euroleague, marked by a qualification in the playoffs, Monaco won its ticket for the next season but is planning even further, as confirmed by its general manager, Oleksiy Yefimov.
At 36, Oleksiy Yefimov is the youngest general manager of a EuroLeague team. True centerpiece of the Monegasque institution, which he helped to reach the level at which it appears today, he does not hide his desire to ensure that it continues. For this, he intends to do everything in his power in the hope of offering Monaco a maximum chance of remaining at the highest level of the European basket. In any case, this is what he named in remarks reported by CartNews.
“We will do our best to increase our budget (which amounts to 14 million euros at the start of the 2021-2022 campaign), taking into account that the financial fair play rule will change the year. next. This means that only half of the budget can be paid by shareholders, so we have to earn the other half. For the playoffs, we may allow sponsorship with a cryptocurrency platform. We try to explore new digital markets. Only ALBA Berlin, Panathinaikos and Crvena Zvezda are below us. But the previous summers we had a headache because we couldn’t keep our players after successful seasons. This year, I believe that they will first listen to us before making any decision.
All we want is to show the EuroLeague and other clubs that the league can benefit from Monaco’s presence. At the same time, one of our main goals was to show and prove that we are ready as an organization to stay at this level. During the summer, another renovation will take place in our room, which will increase the capacity to 5,000 people. We will add seats. Thus, there will be no conflict with the rules of the EuroLeague. We are also working on the new arena project. We realize that if we have any chance of staying in the EuroLeague for the long term, this is the way to go. »
Asked about Kevin Durant’s presence in Monaco and Athens, on the occasion of the quarter-final between Roca Team and Olympiakos, Oleksiy Yefimov said:
“I’m not an expert on this. His coming here gave good visibility to the whole series. Not just by his presence but by the way he got involved and entertained himself. (A potential cooperation with the NBA?) If you ask this question of any EuroLeague team, the answer will be the same. Everyone is trying to see what the possibilities are. It would seem strange if I said that we are not, but it would also seem unserious if I said that we already have something. It is too early to talk about it. »
Oleksiy Yefimov, CEO of Monaco
Photo: Oleksiy Yefimov (AS Monaco Basket)