mallin review copy

The report and findings of the Mallin Basketball Review

31st July 2007

Mallin Basketball review report22

Mallin Basketball review report 33

Chairman’s Introduction

I accepted the position of Chairman of theBasketball Review Group because I believe thatbasketball has significantly more potential than anyother sport to dramatically increase the level ofparticipation in sport across England at all levels.

I would like to express my personal thanks to everyone who hascontributed through the consultation process.My special thanks to the members of the Basketball Review Group who have provided their time and professional expertise to contribute the insights andrecommendations contained within this report:Paul Buxton,Performance Programme Consultant,UK SportPerry Crimmins, Project Manager,Sport EnglandJohn Eady, Managing Director,Knight,Kavanagh and PageTrudi Else, Client Manager,Sport EnglandMartin Henlan, Broadcaster/Journalist UKTV,ex England and GB International BasketballDavid Henwood, Management Consultant, ex Deputy CEO Gloucester RFCTony Mallin (Chair), CEO,STAR Capital PartnersStephen Redwood, President and CEO (UK),Mercer Delta ConsultingMichael Sorkin,Vice Chairman,N M Rothschild & SonsDr Neil Tunnicliffe, Principal,Wharton Consulting, former CEO Rugby Football LeagueLisa Wainwright, Head of National Sport,Sport England

Chairman’s introduction

There are 5 key recommendations:

1. Appoint a high calibre Chairperson 2. Reform the governing body3. Provide sufficient funding4. Grow sustainable grass roots participation5. Develop World-Class British teamsThese recommendations directly address the challenges identified during the Review Group’s consultation.We must not lose time in implementing them if we wish to see a fundamental increase in participation and an improvement in the performance of basketball.

Tony Mallin


EndorsementsDerek Mapp,Chairman,Sport England,“In our aim to increase participation by 2 million in sport by 2012,basketball is ideally placed to contribute significantly to this,particularly engaging priority groups.With strongvision,leadership and innovation through delivery of the recommendations in this report,I hope we will see the sport flourish and achieve its full potential”

Jennie Price,Chief Executive,“Sport England welcomesthis review,and will continue to provide active support to the sport of basketball to provide a platform to help it rise to the significant challenge of delivering a step change in participation.”

Liz Nicholl,Director of Performance,UK Sport,“UK Sport is reliant on a strong,effective and wellresourced England governing body to underpin ourinvestment in the British team and deliver a legacy for2012.We therefore welcome the recommendations in thereview that seek to ensure such a structure is now in place.”

Luol Deng,Chicago Bulls,“As pleased as I am to beincluded in this review,I am even more excited to play aleading role in the continuing development of the sport ofbasketball in the UK.England gave me my first opportunityto succeed in this sport and opened many doors for me.Every suggestion this review has outlined shows a newcommitment towards excellence for the future ofbasketball.I am committed to teach the game and helpdevelop the sport throughout the UK.With the 2012Olympic Games in London we have an opportunity thathas to be seized! I am confident that our team will deliversuccess on the international stage and in turn raise theprofile of the sport at the same time”

Pops Mensah-Bonsu,Dallas Mavericks,“This will be an opportunity to expose and develop athletes within adormant sport in the UK,leaving generations of youngpeople participating in one of the fastest growing sports in the world.Developing new talents through grass roots programmes such as the Leaders In Training ProDevelopment Basketball Academy,which will developfuture elite athletes for London 2012 and years after.It will also give us the contingency to create one of the best development leagues in Europe as we haven’t reallyestablished one in England.”

David Stern,Commissioner,NBA,“The 2012 Olympicsprovide an enormous opportunity to improve basketball in the UK and at the national and international level,as well as use the sport to bring together diverse communities.The NBA fully supports the need for this fundamentalreview of the sport,and we look forward to seeingsignificant positive changes in the near future."

Jordi Bertomeu,CEO,Euroleague,“The review ofbasketball is an extremely positive step in developing

the sport in the UK.The Euroleague looks forward tosupporting the positive change that will come out of this review process.”

Phil Beard,CEO O2 Dome,formerly LOCOG,“The vision of London 2012 is to stage inspirational Gamesthat capture the imagination of young people around theworld and leave a lasting legacy.Basketball has the potentialin this country to help achieve this.With these changes,andwith the infrastructure we are developing,we could put onevents that would be the envy of the world.”

Endorsements / Glossary

GlossaryAfPE Association for Physical Education

AOTTs Adults other than teachers

BBF British Basketball Federation

BBL British Basketball League

BCA Basketball Coaches Association

BOA British Olympic Association

BSF Building Schools for the Future

CCDP Community Club Development Programme

CSC Community Sports Coach

CSN Community Sports Network

CSP County Sports Partnership

CPD Continuous Professional Development

DCMS Department for Culture,Media and Sport

EB England Basketball

ESBBA England Schools Basketball Association

FE/HE Further Education/Higher Education

FIBA The International Basketball Federation

GB Great Britain

GBB Great Britain Basketball

LA Local authority

NBA National Basketball Association

NGB EB or any successor organisation

P4S Partnerships for Schools

PDM Partnership Development Manager

RDA Regional Development Agency

SCW Sports Council for Wales

SCUK Sports coach UK

SE Sport England

SSP School Sport Partnership

TASS Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme

UKCC UK Coaching Certificate

YST Youth Sport Trust


Table of Contents1.Background 6

1.1 Terms of Reference 61.2 Consultation 7

2.Executive Summary 82.1 The case for investing in basketball 92.2 Challenges 102.3 Recommendations 112.4 Targets 152.5 Next Steps 17

3.The Case for Investing in Basketball 183.1 Basketball today 183.2 The participation (grass roots and club) potential 213.3 The performance (elite and international level) potential 22

4.Challenges 234.1 Organisation 244.2 Participation 254.3 Performance 31

5.Recommendations 335.1Appoint a high calibre Chairperson to implement

this report in its entirety 345.2 Reform the governing body 345.3 Provide sufficient funding 395.4 Grow sustainable grass roots participation 405.5 Develop World-Class British teams 43

6.Targets 447.Next Steps 488.Appendices 49APPENDIX 1:List of Consultees 49

List of Figures Figure Title Page

1. Role of respondents in the online survey 72. EB 2006 and 2007 proposed funding requirement 143. % UK adults participating in sport at least once a month 2006 194. Relative basketball participation:France,Italy,

Germany and England 195. FIBA 2006 World Basketball Rankings 206. Key success factors for basketball 237. Chart indicating the extent of agreement or disagreement with

a set of statements describing England Basketball 248. Quality rating of teaching and coaching in basketball 269. England Basketball ‘affiliated’club distribution 2710. England Basketball ‘Clubmark’club distribution 2711. Rating of officials in UK basketball 2812. Chart indicating the extent of agreement or disagreement

with a set of statements describing the British Basketball League 3213. Reformed National Governing Body:proposed Board structure 3514. Reformed National Governing Body:proposed Management Team 3715. Reformed National Governing Body:proposed Participation Directorate 38

Table of Contents

Mallin Basketball review report1.Background6

1.Background

• Improve and enhance the governance,structure and strategic direction of the sport.

• Develop and grow participation at grass roots and club levels.

• Establish a mechanism to build and sustain improved performance at international level.

1.1 Terms of ReferenceThe task set for the Mallin Basketball Review Group (‘the Review Group’) by the then Sports Minister RichardCaborn,was to review the structure and governance of basketball in England and to propose a series of recommendations to1:

Mallin Basketball review report 71.Background

1.2 Consultation The consultation process has enabled the Review Group to develop and propose a series of recommendations thatare designed to overcome the obstacles which currentlystand in the way of building a thriving basketball culture in Britain.

We would like to express our sincere thanks to over 500 individuals who through consultation or the onlinesurvey have provided their views to the Review Group.

Agency consultationThe Review Group has been encouraged by the interest,enthusiasm and evident commitment of participants inevery level of the sport.In particular they have beenreassured by the high degree of unanimity about thechallenges we face.An exceptionally good representation of parties has been achieved:

• Over 80 individuals representing more than 30 agenciesconcerned with basketball have been consulted.

• Most aspects of basketball functions were represented2.• Views have also been received from England Basketball,

FIBA,the NBA and other UK/England NGBs.

Additionally an online survey3 was conducted whichattracted more than 400 respondents; findings wereconsistent with direct consultation interviews.

• Data was collected via online survey between 1September and 16 October 2006.

• A range of contacts were invited to participate.Contact details were provided byEB/BCA/ESBBA/BBL,via the Mallin BasketballReview website and via direct email contact.

• 411 individuals completed the survey and many others provided comments via email.

• The survey site was accessed via the Mallin BasketballReview website www.mallinbasketballreview.org (which was accessible from the Sport England andHosana websites).Over the review period 25,413 hits were recorded.

A wide and varied view was captured through ensuringdiversity in the demographics of the survey respondents(see figure 1 below).

Existing policiesThe report reflects the principles of UK Sport’s ‘Investing in Change’and Sport England’s ‘Self AssuranceModel’templates.It recognises that, in the investmentstrategy for Beijing 2008 and London 2012,UK Sport has adopted a 'no compromise' approach to funding and support.

1 The report does not cover wheelchair basketball.This is classed as a separate sport and NGB.

2 E.g.paid and voluntary,domestic and international,participation,coaching,education,media,‘street basketball’,officiating and administrative capacity

3 Source:Mercer Delta Consulting

Figure 1:Role of respondents inonline survey

Source:Online Basketball Survey2006 (it should be noted that manyrespondents have more than one role)


• Is easy to play and enjoy at any age,available both indoors and outdoors.

• Can attract grass roots participation in deprivedareas and so has strong potential to create bonds andfriendships across communities and reduce street crime.

• Can help to combat health issues such as youth obesity.

• Is attractive to young people,having strong links with fashion and music.

• More than other sports is equally attractive to boys and girls.

2.Executive Summary

2.Executive Summary


4 Rankings published on the FIBA website December 2006

2.1 The case for investing in basketballBasketball is played by more people than any other sport in the world except football.It is hugely popular in Europe,the Americas,Australasia and Asia.As of August 2006,theInternational Basketball Federation (FIBA) had 213 memberfederations,and is now responsible for a sport that has morethan 400 million players world-wide.However participationin England,at 25,000 registered players,is significantly belowthat of its peers in Europe.

Some success has been achieved in major competitions,most notably the 2006 Commonwealth Games where both England’s men’s and women’s teams won bronzemedals.However,home nation teams (England,Scotland and Wales) currently rank outside the top 75 (for men) and 64 (for women) in the world .

The Review Group believes that,given the situation ofbasketball today and the large potential for the sport,morecan be achieved through investing in the development of basketball than any other team sport in England both in terms of elite performance and wider participation.This is based on the scale of improvements possiblecompared with European peers,the impact on a range ofsocial factors,health benefits and the time required to achievesignificant improvement - relative to any other sport.

Participation (grass roots and club) potentialBasketball is an inclusive sport.It assists in breaking downcultural and social barriers where they exist.It is a sport that:

• Is easy to play and enjoy at any age,available both indoors and outdoors.

• Can attract grass roots participation in deprived areas and so has strong potential to create bonds and friendshipsacross communities and reduce street crime.

• Can help to combat health issues such as youth obesity.• Is attractive to young people,having strong links

with fashion and music.• More than other sports is equally attractive to

boys and girls.

In England,basketball has less than a quarter of the number of registered players compared with other traditional teamsports such as hockey and netball,despite a large unaffiliatedplayer following.In addition we still lack the club network of our European peers.England has less than 20% of thenumber of basketball clubs in France,Italy or Spain.

To improve this we must ensure we have good managementand co-ordination particularly where new facilities arealready planned,e.g.,aligning with the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme for school infrastructurerenewal.If better managed and coordinated and linked to national programmes,basketball can really deliversubstantial value for money.

Basketball has the potential to become a major participationsport in Britain,generating levels of involvement to matchthose achieved in Europe.Even with the stronger presenceof other sports such as football,rugby and netball in theUK,there is no inherent cultural reason that explains whyparticipation in basketball in this country is so much lowerthan our main European counterparts.

Performance (Elite and International Level) PotentialIt is widely believed that by removing specific barriers tonational representation we have the potential to access astock of talented GB athletes from which successfulnational teams can be produced.There is currently agrowing number of British players playing in the NBA,the NCAA and others who are contracted to professionalteams in Europe.All could add enormously to the quality of what is already shaping up as a strong GB team.Withsupport from high profile players for British basketball there has never been a better opportunity to impact on GB performance.

Sufficient performance funding from UK Sport can alsoenable basketball to establish an elite player developmentprogramme and invest in British representative teams at a level that has simply not been available before.

If we were to be represented by the very best British players from around the world,there is every chance thatGB could achieve comparable world rankings to those of our European peers within a relatively short timeframe and aim to achieve success on the Olympic stage in 2012.Putting this in perspective,France (silver medallists at theSydney Olympics) has 4 NBA players and is ranked in the top 10 in the world.

For the past 20 years or so Britain has been identifiedwithin the basketball world as the country that will sooner or later tap into the exceptionally high level of talent available.There is, therefore,a real opportunity toimprove GB’s international performance and,like othercountries,generate significant investment and income atelite performance levels.Staging the 2012 Olympic Gamesgives the GB basketball teams an opportunity to qualify for the final stages of the Olympics for the first time since1948.This can be used as a platform to dramatically increasethe attractiveness of the sport to a wider pool of current and potential players.

Basketball is an exciting team sport and it is extremelyattractive as a television and sponsorship proposition.A high profile national team would only encourage further commercial investment.

2.Executive Summary


2.2 Challenges

The facts above,and the views expressed to the ReviewGroup during the consultation process,confirm that thereare many challenges to address.The investment case forbasketball needs to be justified based on a strategic plan that addresses all of the following challenges.

2.Executive Summary

Strategic direction• Under supported vision:Despite published plans,

the consultation process suggested that the vision forbasketball is not well understood and could be muchbetter bought into at all levels.

Structure and governance • Organisation unsuitable:The current organisation

of basketball in England is ill suited to face the challenges ahead.The wider basketball community has reservations about EB’s ability to take the sportforward.Many problems exist in relation to the structureand governance of the sport.To address these problemsand meet the challenges ahead,we believe change to the constitution,powers,scope and obligations of the governing body is vital.

• Disparate governance: Management and co-ordinationis hampered by the fact that different facets of the sport are managed and operated separately (coaches,BBL,independent leagues and camps).The ongoing uneasebetween and within these bodies has been a hindrance to progress.

• Weak execution:This is the third review of the sportcommissioned since 2000;none appears to have resolvedthe issues covered in this report.Many blockages toprogress remain and key bodies in basketball lack focus on a performance culture.

Investment• Under-funded: Given the task ahead insufficient

funding is channelled into the sport.There is also no clear strategy to reduce funding dependence and increase income from commercial sources.

• Funding not allocated optimally: Funding is notsystematically focused on high impact areas.

Participation (grass roots and club level) • Poor access to facilities:The sport,at all levels,

has insufficient access to affordable facilities of the right standard.

• Limited presence in schools:Young people inprimary schools have insufficient opportunities to playbasketball.The quantity and quality of the teaching andcoaching of basketball in secondary schools does notclearly lead into both recreational and competitive games.

• Inadequate coaching capacity and capability:Co-ordination and distribution of coaches is limited.There are too few good,qualified coaches working inbasketball,and a structure ill suited to making anyfundamental improvements.

• The club base of basketball is limited andgeographically inconsistent: Compared to Europeanneighbours,e.g.,France,Italy or Germany,England has less than 20% of the number of clubs.

• Limited player pathways:There are too few knownand easily accessible opportunities for players to progressfrom participation at school and/or clubs to higher levelsof performance.The partnerships to improve this are not managed to achieve their full potential.

• Inadequate competitions: Club competitions could be much better organised so as to make it easy or affordable for clubs to complete in enough areas.

Performance (international level)• Weak domestic professional league (BBL):

The professional league is commercially weak,widelydistrusted and the competition is of a much lower playing standard than our European counterparts.

• Barriers to a high performance national team:Contractual release of Great Britain international playerslocated in all countries needs better forward planning.Elite performers are not presently provided with the levelof support they require to take part and perform well.The level at which coaches currently operate does notsupport the improvement of international performance,or set a culture of success for the team.

Mallin Basketball review report 112.Executive Summary

1) Appoint a high calibre Chairperson to implement this report in its entiretyA leader is needed who is able to drive an organisation that can deliver the vision for the sport.This should be a person of stature with commitment to the sport andstrong business acumen who will have the skills andcharacter to unite the sport and implement all therecommendations in this report.

This appointment will be a major step towards bringing the recommendations in this report to life and meeting our key targets.We must make the appointment as quicklyas possible if we wish to capitalise upon this unique window of opportunity.

2.3 RecommendationsDespite these challenges there is no insurmountable barrier to generating significant expansion in grass rootsparticipation or to increasing levels of performance.Review Group recommendations are encapsulated in 5 themes which need to be implemented rapidly (with 24 specific recommendations detailed in section 5) in order to deliver a key objective:

“By 2012,double basketball participation and create GB teams that qualify for the Olympic quarter finals.”

1. Appoint a high calibre Chairperson toimplement this report in its entirety

2. Reform the governing body3. Provide sufficient funding4. Grow sustainable grass roots participation5. Develop World-Class British teams


Its view is that fundamental change to the constitution,powers,scope and obligations of the governing body isrequired and that the governing body needs to reform inorder to help the sport realise this potential.If EB does not commit to and is unable to undertake such changeswithin a reasonable timescale (no more than 12 monthsfrom publication of this report) we believe it would be inthe best interest of basketball for a new governing bodyentity to be formed to replace the existing entity.

EB must be set up to attract and retain the best people torun the sport within an appropriate management structure.Existing EB employees should be given the opportunity to apply for all posts within the new structure5.

The NGB should have the vision for the sport in England.It should build upon existing published plans and align all relevant bodies around these.It should be able to fightbasketball’s corner effectively with renewed vigour.At both national and local level it should re engage andwork with enthusiasts across the country to build grass roots participation and develop the game;supporting GB national teams to compete at the highest level with distinction.

The NGB should create an environment and culture with a strong sense of belonging for those who participate inbasketball.It must operate a target based performanceculture and control key leadership aspects of the sport inEngland.In particular,to ensure that the sport grows andstrengthens at all levels, it must have an impact upon thefollowing factors:

• increase the presence of basketball in schools• the number,quality and distribution of clubs• levels of access to affordable facilities• the management and co-ordination of quality coaches• relationships with the professional game• commercial and philanthropic sources of funding

The Review Group accepts that,although highly desirable,it is not practical at this time to attempt to create a singleBritish governing body for the whole of basketball.However,the NGB must have a close working relationshipwith Scotland and Wales,and positively contribute to aBritish agenda.

5 All recommendations in this report concerning staff of EB are subject to any impact (if applicable) of the Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment (TUPE)Regulations or similar legislation or statement of practice and/or other employee consultation requirements.

2.Executive Summary

Despite this, the Review Group’sfinding is that many problemscontinue to exist in relation to thestructure and governance of the sport and that the Whole Sport Plan does not realise the full potential of basketball.

2) Reform the governing bodyProgress has been made in the sport over the last few years and plans have been put in place by the home nationsto develop a GB team.England Basketball has also becomemore financially stable and this is a significant achievementthat deserves acknowledgement.


In order to ensure the continuity of funding to the elitedevelopment programme,UK Sport and the ReviewGroup agreed that as a temporary and interim measure UK Sport would form a subsidiary company to manageand fund basketball’s elite performance operations.Its rolewill include defining the desired player pathway for eliteperformance,elite coaching,and the GB national teamculture and development.This action has DCMS andTreasury consent and the subsidiary company was set up in early 2007.

It is planned that the British Basketball Federation (if and when recognised),acting on behalf of the threehome country basketball associations,will delegateresponsibility for the formation and fielding of Britishsenior and Under 20 teams to the subsidiary company.In seeking recognition from the sports councils,BBF musthave representatives from each of English,Scottish andWelsh Basketball in membership.The Review Grouprecommends that, in addition,the CEO of the NGB should become the Chairperson of the BBF.

We must ensure that the NGB and the elite basketballagenda remain firmly aligned.If recognised,BBF mustagree how the performance function is to be managed.UK Sport will set out its requirements in this respect alongthe lines of the template agreed with other British sportsthat predominantly compete at home nation level such ashockey,badminton,table tennis,volleyball and boxing.

If and when BBF is recognised by the Sports Councils as the body with responsibility for overseeing eliteperformance basketball, it is recommended that it shoulddelegate responsibility for operational management of theGB elite performance basketball function to the NGB via a service level agreement.This will replace the existingarrangement between BBF and the subsidiary companyand allow the transfer of the subsidiary company to the NGB.

In the interim,in order to ensure effective workingpractices and communication,the NGB and the subsidiarycompany managing the elite basketball programme shouldbe co-located.

If our first two recommendations are not implemented in full then we believe there is little prospect of additionalfunding bearing fruit.

3) Provide sufficient fundingWithout sufficient funds it is highly unlikely that successwill be achieved.Basketball must be empowered to makethe required step change by being allocated a level offunding support to achieve this,directly tied to interimevaluation of performance.

The NGB should have a structure capable of making a stepchange in the development of the sport.This will requirefunding significantly in excess of that presently allocated.

It should be provided on the understanding that,over time,income generated via other means will account for asteadily increasing proportion of annual expenditure.

Following the implementation of recommendation 2,the proposed higher budget should be made available for aminimum of 3 years.The first three years of the reformedNGB operation should be reviewed in the light of progressagainst set targets

Total income required to run the NGB as envisaged inrecommendation 2 will be around £3.25m per annum.This has been calculated on a bottom up basis and shouldenable the headcount to increase from around 20 to about40 staff.It will allow the NGB to attract greater levels ofexpertise and skills from within the marketplace.

Commercial income (including membership fees) shouldprovide up to £1m based on EB’s current income fromthese sources,thereby leaving £2.25m to be fundedelsewhere.

The recommendation is that Sport England should provideannual funding to the NGB totalling at least £1.7m perannum.This is an additional £1.2m in funding per annumabove the planned £0.5m funding to EB for 07/08 WholeSport Plan.

UK Sport will provide a further £1.5m per annum to thesubsidiary company for GB elite performance basketball.The subsidiary company will require a central overheadcapability to function effectively.The NGB should providethis support and should be compensated at a fair marketrate,which we estimate to be £150K.

This leaves a funding gap of £0.40m to which the NGBwill need to find an early solution.£0.25m is a result of the fact that the cost of the elite youth activity does notappear to fall within the remit of either UK Sport or SportEngland for which a contingency reserve of £0.15m has been added.

The Review Group believes that the strategy it isrecommending will in time lead to the NGB generatingsignificant commercial revenues over and above the public funding outlined above.As commercial revenuesdevelop and are reinvested in basketball, the Review Group recommends that public funding must bemaintained and not reduced as long as targets are beingachieved.This will enable basketball to grow at anaccelerated pace towards the benchmarks set by majorEuropean countries such as Spain,France and Germany.

Formal funding discussions have taken place with SportEngland and we are encouraged by the support it has given.The first formal task of the new Chairperson will be tosubmit funding applications to Sport England.


Figure 2:EB 2006 funding and NGB2007-09 proposed fundingrequirements

Formal funding discussions have taken place with SportEngland and we are encouraged by the support it has given.The first formal task of the Chairperson will be to submitfunding applications to Sport England.

2.Executive Summary

Note Sport England totals include:

05/06 - £650k Whole Sport Plan,£85k PESSCL club links schoolprogramme,£65k UK Coaching Certificate,£473.5k Commonwealth Games Funding

06/07 - £650k Whole Sport Plan,£97.5k PESSCL club links school programme,£66k UK Coaching Certificate

07/08 - £500k Whole Sport Plan,£87.75k PESSCL club links school programme.

Source:Sport England

Over the next five years the NGB will need to derive substantially more income from both commercialand philanthropic activity at national and local level.Staff should be hired with professional skills in rightsmanagement to ensure that commercial opportunity andvalue is maximized.EB should work with the temporarysubsidiary company,the professional league (assuming thatit accepts the need for substantial reform and improvement)and clubs to split the rights in an equitable way,using otherfederations as examples of how this might work.

4) Build sustainable grass roots participationStrong processes to drive basketball’s access to existing and planned facilities are required.These should beunderpinned by a carefully planned and conducted audit of present levels of basketball facility access,affordability and security of tenure.The club base needs to be expanded and to be geographically diverse to offerquality opportunities to many more local communities.

A programme should be designed and actively managed to produce consistently higher coach quality,availabilityand distribution.The NGB should (working closely withthe subsidiary company) implement processes to enhanceunderstanding of performance requirements, identify and develop effective talent and put in place appropriatelystructured and available competition.

The NGB management structure should ensure thatpartnerships are more effectively managed.Increased staff numbers at regional level will ensure a seamless player pathway between school,club and higher levels of performance.

Over the next five years the NGB will need to derive substantially more income from both commercial and philanthropic activity at national and local level.


5) Develop World-Class British teamThe NGB should work closely with UK Sport and the subsidiary company to significantly improve theperformance of GB elite basketball.Together they willremove barriers to national representation;address issues such as release planning for contracts and costly insurance;and implement a satisfactory talented player pathway.The outcome should be the very best GB squad drawntogether from British elite talent around the world.

Furthermore,the professional league,together with theNGB,should set up a working group with the aim of co-ordinating activity to support the development ofbasketball throughout the country.Specifically this willensure that it plays an increasing and more beneficial role ingrass roots development and talent pathways and become anintegral part of the talented/elite player development system.

Specific activities could include entering a composite team in the Euroleague.There is an argument for housing this team elsewhere but,for maximum commercial impact,London is the natural home.There would be a requirementto centrally fund the British core of the team with a further 2 or 3 high standard foreign nationals as necessary and coachselection is of critical importance.The British core would be placed with existing clubs for domestic competition andwould be built around the national elite squad.It would add considerable value to the commercial and mediapropositions/opportunity for the sport.There would be a requirement for special dispensation from Euroleague,but this should not be a major barrier.

2.4 TargetsA focused and unified approach is required to meet thevision for basketball.The NGB should operate through a target based performance culture to achieve this.

An independent evaluation of performance against targetsshould be conducted on an annual basis in order todetermine the NGB’s progress and to define a timescale to delegate elite Great Britain performance operations tothe NGB.In additional to the key targets 1-20 below,further targets are contained in section 6 numbered 1-33.

Organisation Targets Measurement

Organisation 1) By Dec 2007 Chairperson,CEO and managementteam appointed and reformed organisationalstructure in place

2) By Dec 2008 achieve a clear and aligned sense of direction,driven by an organisation that isaccountable for and better equipped to deliver the required improvements

3) By Jun 2008 all staff appointed to NGB (staffcomplement should rise from c20 to c40)

Governance 4) The sport should be managed by a reformedgoverning body with a remit to manage all facets of the game in England including future delegated eliteperformance operations

Professional staff 5) Attract and retain the best people to run the sport

Funding 6) By Dec 2007 agree recommended funding fromSport England and UK Sport and submit allrelevant funding applications

Mallin Review Group & SportEngland progress appraisal – Jan 08 and Jan 09

Baseline online survey 2006

Re-conduct online survey 2008

Mallin Review Group & SportEngland progress appraisal – Jan 08


Performance Targets Measurement

World Ranking 12) By end of 2007 GB men’s team to be promoted toA division of the Eurobasket.

13) June 2008 GB men’s team performing well in A division

14) End 2008 GB women’s team leading the B division of the Eurobasket.

15) By the end of 2009 GB women’s team to bepromoted to the A division of the Eurobasket.

16) By the end of 2011 British teams to secure the right to compete in the Olympic Games.

17) GB men’s team to qualify for the quarter final at the London 2012 Olympics

Professional league 18) Build strong partnership with the professionalleague in order to create a high quality,viableprofessional league driving involvement inEuropean club competition

19) Enter a composite team in the Euroleague

Competition 20) By 2014 attract 2 major world class basketball events to UK e.g.Euroleague Finals,FIBAEurobasket 2013,FIBA 2014 World Champs.

Baseline FIBA Rankings 2006

FIBA Rankings 2007 >

Mallin Review Group & SportEngland progress appraisal – Jan 08

Participation Targets Measurement

Players 7) By 2012 to double the number of registered players.

Teams / clubs 8) By 2012 to double the number of registeredteams/clubs.

Participation 9) Bring the sport into the national ‘top 10’as measuredvia Sport England’s ‘Active People’survey by 2012

Facilities 10) By 2008 agree facilities target

11) By 2012 deliver facilities target

Baseline EB P&L 2006

NGB P&L 2007>

Baseline Sport England ‘ActivePeople’Survey 2006

Survey >2007

Conduct Audit of Facilities

20) By 2014 attract 2 major world class basketball events to UK e.g.Euroleague Finals,FIBA Eurobasket2013,FIBA 2014 World Champs.

2.Executive Summary


2.5 Next steps1.Agree with all key stakeholders the recommendations within this report.

2.Secure funding.• Submit funding application to secure £1.7m from Sport England.• Agree market rate £0.15m of overhead provision for the subsidiary company.• Create a plan for generating £1m commercial income.• Create a plan to fill £0.4m funding gap.

3.Begin the formal process to appoint a Chairperson of the NGB for a 4 year term.His/her immediate role should be to:• Implement the recommendations in this report in its entirety.• Oversee the reform of the NGB.• Appoint a CEO to the NGB.• Put in place a systematic performance management framework within the NGB.• Outline a remuneration approach to incentives and reward staff performance.

4.Establish a quarterly report by the NGB CEO to Sport England and UK Sport on the implementation of this plan.

5.Sport England to make available funds totalling £300k to initiateimplementation of the recommendations of this report.

2.Executive Summary


Main Report

3.The Case for Investing in Basketball3.1 Basketball today

3.The Case for Investing in Basketball

Basketball is played bymore people than anyother sport in the worldexcept football.

It is hugely popular in Europe,the Americas,Australasiaand Asia.As of August 2006,the International BasketballFederation (FIBA) had 213 member federations,and is now responsible for a sport that has more than 400 millionplayers world-wide.

Whilst we estimate that the number of unaffiliated playerspaints a more positive picture (see Figure 3) participation in England,at 25,000 registered players, is significantlybelow that of other team sports such as hockey 85,000 and netball 59,000 as well as its peers in Europe (Italy,France,Spain and Germany).

Mallin Basketball review report 193.The Case for Investing in Basketball

Figure 3:% UK adults participatingin Sport at least once amonth 2005

Source:Sport England 2006 In addition England lacks the club network of our Europeanpeers.It has less than 10-20% of the number of clubscompared with France,Italy or Germany and our facilitiesare also substantially less available and affordable.

Figure 4:Relative basketball participation:France,Italy,Germany,Spain and England.

Sources:France,Italy data from EB Accounts 2005-06,Germany and Spaindata from Sport England,all countries population and GDP data from CIAWorld Fact Book 2006 Numbers (rounded up/down)

Country Population GDP Registered Registered Unregistered per capita clubs/teams players players

France 63 million US$30,100 4,545 409,000 1,650,000

Italy 58 million US$29,700 3,700 199,000 340,000

Germany 82 million US$31,400 2,000 197,417 5,000,000

Spain 40 million US$27,000 23,145 303,696 4,350,000

England 49 million US$31,400 7056 25,000 Unknown


Figure 5:FIBA 2006 World Basketball Rankings

FIBA ‘06 World Rankings

Country Men Women

Spain 3 8

Italy 7 46

France 8 5

Germany 9 35

GB > 75 > 64

We have had some limited success most notably the 2006Commonwealth Games where both England’s men’s andwomen’s teams won bronze medals,however:

• The professional game is,at present,considered to belargely irrelevant to the development of talented youngBritish players who tend to look to ContinentalEurope/USA to progress their careers.

• We have not accessed further ‘latent’talent in GreatBritain.4 British men play in the NBA and others arecontracted to professional teams in Europe.

• 5 television broadcasters currently deliver basketballprogramming every week yet none feature Britishbasketball as a core proposition;the sport is exceedinglyattractive to television and also commercialsponsors/partners.The sport is popular with a targetaudience for basketball – males aged 16 to 24 - andcurrent exposure is achieved with no promotion by the sport itself.This situation is unique in television.

6 Number affiliated in June 2006 (figure supplied by England Basketball).

7 Rankings published on the FIBA website December 2006


The international ranking of British teams is very low;England, the highest ranked homenation, is not ranked in the top 75 men’s teams or the top 64 women’s teams in the world7.

Mallin Basketball review report 213.The Case for Investing in Basketball

The Review Group’s belief is that,given the situation of basketball today and the large potential for the sport,“more can be achieved through investing in thedevelopment of basketball than any other team sport in the UK”both in terms of elite performance and widerparticipation.This is based on the scale of improvementpossible compared with European peers,the impact on a range of social factors such as health benefits,and the time required to achieve significant improvement.

It is a sport that:• Is easy to play and enjoy at any age.• Is attractive to young people having strong links with

fashion and music.Perhaps more than most other sports it is equally attractive to boys and girls.

• Has tremendous potential to help address health issuessuch as youth obesity.

• Can create bonds and friendship across communities and assist in breaking down cultural and social barrierswhere they exist.

• Has 25,000 registered players,although the number ofunaffiliated players is estimated to be considerably greater.

Strength in other sports will not necessarilyconstrain participation growth Basketball has the potential to become a major participationsport in Great Britain,generating levels of involvement to match those achieved in Europe.Notwithstanding thestronger presence of other sports such as football,rugby and netball, there is no inherent cultural reason that explainswhy participation in basketball in this country is so muchlower than our main European counterparts.For example,both Football and Rugby have comparable grass rootsstanding in countries where basketball is successful,such as France.

A rethink of the infrastructure (clubs and facilities)offers the opportunity to tap into missed growth opportunitiesAccess to facilities is a problem.Where facilities exist,availability of court space at peak times cost of court use and cost to travel to both centres and competitions presentadditional and unnecessary constraints to participation.

At dedicated centres (e.g.,Nottingham,Barrow andManchester) the sport tends to thrive.Where basketball is innovative and is ‘in the right place at the right time’(e.g.,Newcastle) good access to school facilities canunderpin a strong participation structure and tap into youth(under 12’s included) and attract more girls and women.

Appropriately directed and better resourced help from theNGB will make a great difference to struggling ‘would be’basketball players and local organisations.

3.2 The participation (grass roots and club) potential

Basketball has a strong,relevant and inclusive image which makes growth in mass participationhighly achievable.It is a sport that:

“more can be achievedthrough investing in the development ofbasketball than anyother team sport in the UK.”


Youth basketball at Jesse Boot Wildcats Arena in BakersfieldThis is a dedicated,club managed,2-court basketball centre, in Nottingham

We should step up our approach to working inpartnerships where we miss strategic andimplementation opportunities

Engagement with ‘unaffiliated’providers and operatorsappears to be limited.Through these there is an opportunityto tap into further grass roots participation which iscurrently fragmented.We can do more with agencies by increasing our regional and local presence,in particularlinking into schools basketball activity and growing the club base.

If we join together many of the existing or planned effortsbasketball can really deliver substantial value for money.


3.3The performance (elite and international level) potentialIt is widely believed that by removing specific barriers tonational representation we have the potential to access a stockof talented GB athletes from which successful national teamscan be produced.There are British players currently in theNBA,the NCAA and others contracted to professional teamsin Europe.There are high profile players keen to supportBritish basketball and there has,as a result,never been a betteropportunity,on a number of fronts to:

• Achieve on-court success.• Bolster the sport and attract world class competitions,

e.g.European championships in 2013 and WorldChampionships in 2014.

• Develop British heroes to not only inspire new players but also encourage the retention of talented players whomay otherwise drop out of the sport.

With extra funding and strong execution,this can be rapidlyachieved.Sufficient performance funding from UK Sport canalso enable basketball to establish an elite player developmentprogramme and invest in senior British representative teams ata level that has simply not been available before.

If we were to be represented by the very best British playersfrom around the world,there is every reason we could achievecomparable world rankings to those of our European peerswithin a relatively short timeframe and be successful on theOlympic stage in 2012.Putting this in perspective,France(silver medallists at the Sydney Olympics) has 4 NBA playersand is ranked in the top 10 in the world.

For the past 20 years or so Britain has been identified withinthe basketball world as the country that will sooner or later tapinto the exceptionally high level of talent available.There is areal opportunity to improve GB’s international performanceand like other countries,attract significant investment andincome at elite performance levels.Staging the 2012 OlympicGames gives basketball an opportunity to qualify for the finalstages of the Olympics for the first time since 1948.

We must ensure we have goodmanagement and coordinationparticularly where new facilities are already planned e.g.aligning with the Building Schools for theFuture programme for schoolinfrastructure renewal.

Mallin Basketball review report 234.Challenges

There is clear alignment on the key success factors for the sport.Although stakeholders consider all these areasimportant for the development of the sport they have rated some as ‘very important’,helping to prioritise future efforts (see figure 6).

Figure 6:Key success factors for basketball.

Source:Online Basketball Survey 2006,Mercer Delta Consulting

4.Challenges


Figure 7:Please indicate the extent you agree or disagree with each of the following statements as a description ofEngland Basketball.

Source:Online Basketball Survey2006,Mercer Delta Consulting

Notes:Percentages are based on those expressing an opinion (‘Don’t Knows’are excluded).Those responding ‘neither/nor’are not shown here.

While acknowledging the hard work of the existingadministration to put EB back on a sound financial footing and progress made in other areas,the ReviewGroup assessment is that it has not overcome all the barriers limiting the growth and development of the sport.Many challenges remain in most of these areas.

These challenges are described in the following three sub-sections:

1.Organisation – Strategic direction,organisational capability,role and governance

2.Participation – Facilities,coaches,clubs,competitions and partnerships

3.Performance – Elite performance and the professional league

4.1 OrganisationAs stated earlier some progress has been made in the last few years.The sport has a vision in published plans and EB is now more financially stable.However,despite this the overall vision for basketball is neither well understood nor bought into.

The Review Group’s assessment,based on results from both the consultation and survey,is that the currentorganisation of basketball is unsuitable on many fronts (see figure 7).The wider basketball community hasreservations about the capacity of EB in its present form (and of the other bodies:notably BBL) to take the sportforward.Too many issues exist in relation to the structure and governance of basketball.To address these issues and meetthe challenges ahead a change to the constitution,powers,scope and obligations of the governing body is vital.

4.Challenges


and there is also a perception that EB and BBL sometimesput their own self interests above the wider interests of the sport.Two further specific organisational issues werehighlighted in the consultation and review process:• The lack of focus on commercial capability

within the existing organisation to maximize revenue from commercial sources.

• A lack of ‘corporate influence’with Government,business and other key national,regional and local agencies.

Both of these shortcomings have weakened basketball.These challenges could be rectified via amended Boardcomposition and improved staff skills.Recruitmentmechanisms for new board members (to EB) must beimproved upon and be transparent.Staffing structures and job roles,as presently configured,are also not sufficientto address these challenges.New skills and additional staffare required to take the sport to a higher level.

Management and co-ordination is hampered by the fact that different facets of the sport - the,coaches,BBL,independent leagues and camps – are managed,and operate,separately.The perception is that EB has not focused on this wide range of interests in the bestinterests of basketball as a whole.The NGB needs to beresponsible for driving,developing and improving allaspects of basketball.Accountability can thus be improved.This is the third review of the sport commissioned since2000.Weak execution and the lack of a strong performanceculture have not resolved many of the key blockages toprogress covered in this report.The governing body’s workmust be better targeted,adequately resourced,properlymeasured and assessed.

Given the task that the NGB will face to build the sport,a substantially increased budget will be needed.

4.Challenges

Factionalism and “infighting”within basketball has clearly been a major hindrance to progress

4.2 ParticipationThere are many challenges in English basketball today thataffect grass roots participation.Key amongst these are:• Facilities• Coaches• Clubs• Competitions• Partnerships

Access to affordablefacilities was (by somedistance) considered tobe the most importantissue in the online survey(see figure 6) .


FacilitiesAccess to affordable facilities was (by some distance)considered to be the most important issue in the onlinesurvey (see figure 6).This is supported by views gained in the consultation process.Facilities are essential to the growth of the sport.

In England,3,763 courts are located in 3,473 sport hallsacross 3,392 facilities8.Most secondary schools in Englandhave an indoor court although quality and availabilityvaries.There is some evidence of basketball gaining accessto further education and university facilities.

Schools’ facility stock should improve as a result of BSF and over the next 15 years,schools without indoor courtsshould get one and most of the remainder will be rebuilt or upgraded.Notwithstanding whole sport plan statements,basketball is pursuing a productive strategy to gain andretain use of appropriate facilities.This fundamentallyaffects the viability and sustainability of clubs and the growth of the sport as a whole.

There is still very limited access to basketball facilities for competition,training and player development:• Many clubs cannot secure programme time in facilities

for training/competition.• Regional/national squads are unable to gain appropriate

access to affordable facilities.• Some commentators suggest that there is a shortage

of suitable arena venues for the accommodation of theprofessional game and international matches.

Un-coordinated management of public sector facilities andpoor partnership between basketball and local authorities,trusts and private contractors that manage them,makes itmore difficult for them to accommodate existing clubs,and support the development of new facilities.

CoachingAvailability of well trained,motivated coaches,operating at the right level, in the right locations with the right playersis essential to increasing participation,retaining players andfeeding elite programmes.

The co-ordination and distribution of coaches is limitedand the organisation has not been effective in making the required fundamental improvements.Whilst there isconcern for coaching we also still lack the ability tooptimise impact in priority areas such as inner cities via the targeted allocation of staff and resources.

Figure 8:Quality rating of teaching and coaching in UK basketball


8 Data from Sport England Active Places

4.Challenges


Commentators at all levels confirm that the quality and availability of coaches at club level across the country is inconsistent and affecting the sustainability and quality of basketball:

• Qualified coach presence in schools and SSPs,and thenumber of qualified basketball coaches working ineducation would appear to be small.

• There appears to be only a limited number of basketball qualified CSCs.

• At higher levels of performance,many national squadcoaches work on a voluntary basis.There are few elitecoaches and full time coaches are a rare commodity.

The sport has no clear policy on coaching or coachdevelopment:• There is no elite coach identification and development

programme.Processes to qualify new,and develop the skillsof existing,coaches are inadequate e.g.coach qualification is not linked to affiliation,thus restricting capacity tocommunicate with coaches and manage their development,allocation and availability.

• There are options to gain paid employment as a coachin a range of environments.This is,however,not linked tothe governing body in the context of quality control,accreditation and continuous improvement.

• There is a lack of career structure for basketball coaching,despite employment opportunities.There is also a lack ofcoaches with significant international experience.

The BCA is not considered to be particularly effective andreview responses confirm that its relationship with EB isstrained.There is some confusion across the sport about whichagency manages what for coaches.There is no structure todevelop or manage links between coaches operating at a highlevel (with professional teams or national squads) and thoseworking at other levels in the context of skills,techniques and styles of play.

ClubsA strong,sustainable club base (outside of school) is vital to the provision of basketball for players of all abilities and is the key to training and developing the most gifted.However,the club base of basketball is limited and,in themain,is unable to provide the required natural progressionfor young people from school.The affiliated9 club base of the sport is re-building from a low ebb,three years ago.As of March 10 2007,Basketball has 65 Clubmark10 clubs and several professional league clubs have achievedClubmark status11.

Figure 9:EB ‘affiliated’club distribution

Figure 10:EB ‘Clubmark’club distribution

Sources:England Basketball 2006

9 Affiliated clubs are those that have ‘joined’the governing body but are not accredited against Clubmark criteria

10Clubmark clubs are those which have been accredited under 4 specific criteria to prove they are safe,effective and child friendly

11As of December 2006 – source England Basketball

4.Challenges


Where clubs exist they do not have capacity or struggle togain access to facilities.It is no surprise that in England,basketball has a much smaller club base than other sports.It has, for example, just 23% of the number of affiliatedclubs/teams of netball.

However,the comparison is most stark alongside European basketball peers:

• England has just 16% of the number of registered clubsand 7% of the number of registered players involved inthe sport compared with France 12.

• Compared with Italy,England has 19% of the number of registered clubs and 11% of the players.In Englandmany clubs are simply single teams whose viability/sustainability is in some cases questionable.They tendnot to have capacity to support development and there is a significant issue related to those that can cater foryoung people,especially those less than 12 years of age.Club-based options for girls are even scarcer and thisworrying fact is borne out by evidence of a decline in the number of women’s national league clubs.

Best practice can be gleaned from some successful clubs and this should provide a basis on which to transform thecurrent club landscape:• Clubs that operate from,or have regular affordable

access to,their own,or a sympathetically managed andprogrammed,indoor facility,tend to thrive;ManchesterMagic and Mystics and Nottingham Wildcats aretestament to this.Programmes operated by professionalclubs for example Milton Keynes Lions,WestfieldSheffield Sharks and Newcastle Eagles;demonstrate that they can be effective in supporting the developmentof new clubs for young people.

• Some clubs operating in inner-city areas (e.g.,BrixtonTop Cats) prove that the sport can attract and retainyoung players from such areas.It also helps todemonstrate how talented players can be helped to take a step onto the player pathway.

Competition Competitions are not sufficiently comprehensive to make it easy or affordable for clubs in enough areas to compete.

Club competitionThe quality of club competition at adult and junior levels is variable and in some areas of the country and age groupsit is relatively low.In order to increase the attractiveness of the sport to both young people and adults we need tobuild a system which reduces travel times and which buildsupon demonstrated interest in central venue leagues to raise and sustain participation.We must also strengthen theprocesses by which competition structures can play a role in providing platforms to spot the talented.Competitionstructures must be reviewed and strengthened to provideattractive,affordable options for players,of all ages andlevels.Particular attention needs to be paid to improvingcompetition opportunities for girls and women.

Schools competitionSchool competition structures must be reviewed andstrengthened.Basketball in schools must be betterorchestrated,promoted and supported to ensure that acomprehensive,quality offer is made to young players,of both gender,all ages and levels of ability.

OfficialsThe general consensus of opinion is that little has been done (or certainly achieved) in the context ofincreasing the number of officials over recent years.The review survey and consultation indicated a clear need to increase the numbers and quality of referees and table officials in the sport.

Figure 11:Rating of Officials in UK basketball

Officials are an important part of the game and without the requisite number,operating at the right level,having benefited from the right training,the quality of the sport at bothrecreational and competitive levels will decline.


12Even allowing for the fact that the population of England is 82% of France

4.Challenges


Partnerships Overall,partnership opportunities within basketball exist but the track record of collaboration is poor.The consultation and online survey highlighted basketball’slimited effectiveness to date in working with regional andlocal parties.This has severely hampered the ability to drive participation and performance effectively.• ‘Regional visibility and presence’is poor e.g.there are

too few regional development staff.• There is low awareness of the vision/strategy for the sport

amongst the regional and local partnership community.• There are relatively few productive relationships with

potential partners in local authorities,SSPs,further andhigher education.

• Basketball has been slow to get involved in nationallydriven programmes (e.g.the ‘competition managers’resource going into SSPs.)

• Basketball is only providing limited input to CSP work in a number of areas, including facilities access,SSPs/schools,coach training and development and localcompetition structures.

• The number of schools that register with ESBBA has,since 2000-01,varied from 359 to 455 (423 this year).This is just 10-12% of the number of state secondaryschools in England.Some informal, local inter-schoolcompetition occurs.

Three major challenges emerge across all the partnership areas:• Too many agencies in ‘the basketball marketplace’

have detracted from EB’s capacity to present itself as the ‘face of ’,or the ‘gateway to’,the sport in England.

• Partnerships are not effectively managed to share vision and deliver regionally and locally

• Limited player pathways.There are too few visible,accessible opportunities for players to progress fromparticipation at school and/or clubs to higher levels of performance.Better coordination of effort by EB of partnerships in basketball is needed to ensure a clear pathway from grass roots to higher and eliteperformance levels.

A number of partnerships are discussed in more detail below:• National agencies• Regional agencies and CSPs• SSPs and schools• Other ‘unaffiliated’providers and operators

National agenciesTo promote the sport effectively,basketball leaders mustwork closely with key national agencies such as DCMS,Sport England,UK Sport,YST and programmes such asSportsmatch to overcome strong negative perceptions.The visibility and presence of basketball as a major nationalsport needs to be raised.Its credibility must be rebuiltbecause the perceived present status of basketball,andrelationships between basketball bodies,has dentedpartners’confidence in the sport’s capacity to deliver.

Regional agencies and CSPsComparable sports find that the value of regionalassociations in advocacy and volunteer input outweighs the time absorbed attending (and to an extent servicing)voluntary regional committees.There would,therefore,appear to be sufficient rationale to justify implementing aprocess that reinvigorates the English regional associations.The sport does not currently work sufficiently closely withCSPs to widen its base and develop opportunities for girls,people from areas of deprivation and the BME community.CSPs are well-placed to support work on Clubmark,club development and coach qualification.Furthermore the sport lacks a clear and cohesive strategy for staff to drive its development at regional and local levels.This should include:• Transmission of the vision for the sport to regional

arms of national agencies and throughout the Delivery System for Sport.

• Regional staff to ‘sell’the sport to key partners,brokercommunication and collaborate on specific projects and programmes.

• Being able to offer specific expertise about BSF to ensurethat local basketball interest is effectively represented.

SSPs and schoolsIt is vital that basketball is underpinned by a strong presencein primary and secondary schools.Effective routes foryoung players into the sport are essential to its future.Most secondary schools in England have indoor courts and,in some,basketball has a strong presence.The sport’savailability in primary and junior schools is much morelimited.The survey and consultation confirms that:• Relatively few teachers enter the profession

(at primary or secondary level) able to teach/coachbasketball at an adequate standard.

• There is little by way of formal communication about the sport with/to schools.

4.Challenges


• Work to date has had little impact on the presence and strength of basketball in SSPs/schools.

• The sport’s capacity to intervene and promote the sportin SSPs/schools is restricted by the size and effectivenessof its regional development workforce.

• For girls,basketball is insufficiently available as an alternative to,for example,netball,which has a relatively strong presence in both primary & secondary schools.

For boys,basketball is more widely available but,apart fromin schools where teachers have specific interest, is still oftensecondary to other sports.

Other ‘unaffiliated’providers and operatorsA substantial level of ‘unaffiliated’basketball takes place.Participation in the sport,as officially recorded by EB,thus underestimates its presence and significance,particularly in key inner-city areas.

There are independent operators about whom more isknown,but they tend to work alongside rather than withthe governing body(s) to develop the sport.

Examples include:• Nike Midnight Madness.This operates primarily in

London and claims to have a player database of 46,000people and to have signed 11,000 new members insummer 2006 alone.

• Streetball.co.uk.This community programme is thoughtto have had considerable success engaging with the hardto reach,unregistered basketball fraternity.

• The Greater Manchester Youth Basketball (Amaechi)Centre.This accommodates and supports participationand development of the game in Manchester.It is hometo the competitively successful Manchester Magic andManchester Mystics men’s and women’s clubs.

• Bucknall Essential Skills Basketball Camps.These areinternationally acknowledged to offer well-structuredenvironments to develop elite players (boys/ girls U18).

• A number of other providers operate commerciallysuccessful basketball camps across the UK.

The latest Nike Midnight Madness competitions

4.Challenges


There is a perception that EB is unreceptive to workingwith these other operators, that more can be done toencourage linkages and that approaches to EB receivelimited,if any,response.The value simply of recording such participation is also not fully utilized:• Apparently,few players find their way into registered

clubs/leagues from the ‘unstructured’sector,although it isdifficult to tell as there is no mechanism to assess this.

The consensus is that talented players from such leaguestend not to gain access to established performance pathways- a missed opportunity both for them and the sport.• Providers and coaches can set up leagues,clubs and other

mechanisms without affiliating to or registering with thegoverning body.

• Basketball needs to exploit opportunities to present and promote the sport by working with other partners in areas that offer potential for mutual advantage.

4.3 PerformanceElite performanceThere has,until now,been no formal performance directoratestructure in GB Basketball.This is recognised and is beingtackled as a matter of urgency.The Review Group hasrecommended and endorsed the setting up of a SubsidiaryCompany initially under the governance of UK Sport andHome Countries’(England,Scotland and Wales) as a shortterm solution to funding elite activity and putting it on theright path for success.This will enable necessary staff to besourced to commence GB team preparation in support ofachieving the qualification level for the London OlympicGames.However a number of challenges remain:

The dispersal of the best British professional players across the World means that significant logistical and contractualproblems must be tackled as part of drawing the GB teamtogether.Elite performers must be provided with the supportthey need to take part and perform well.The absence of visibleBritish role models,and no track record of success,adverselyaffects the motivation of young players to contribute tonational squads.

Financial support for international teams has improved inrecent years.Significant investment has been made available by UK Sport to support the development of successful British teams.There will still be a responsibility to sourceadditional income to support the development of talentedyoung players.• to improve the supply of talented female players to national

teams/squad• to deliver a programme of talent identification that guides

the right young players into the sport via a clear top-downprotocol of development for aspiring elite players or their coaches

• to provide the right development opportunities to developyoung talent and support appropriate career choices

• to support U16 and U18 representative teams.

Basketball needs to be set up to produce the best possibleteams to compete in the London Olympics.In doing sobasketball must ensure the international programmes thathave been developed and the talent underpinning them can aim to secure the place of the British team in OlympicGames thereafter.

Basketball needs to exploit opportunities to present and promote the sport by working withother partners in areas that offer potential formutual advantage.

4.Challenges


Professional LeagueWhile BBL’s reputation across the sport is generally verypoor,almost two thirds of those consulted felt that the BBLshould enhance basketball in England and almost half ofsurvey respondents felt it will play a critical role in success at the 2012 Olympics.

Some progress is being made to reduce the number of non-GB qualified players signed and some franchises appear tohave an impact in developing the game (e.g., the Eagle’s‘Hoops for Health,the Sheffield Sharks Alliance clubstructure and anti-crime/drugs work undertaken byScottish Rocks).

However,the present profile and commercial viability ofBBL is limited.It is held in low esteem and does not entereither FIBA or ULEB13 managed European competition.

Its contribution to GB player development is widelyconsidered to be limited.Commercial potential has notbeen exploited.The professional game appears to bestruggling financially.Even successful franchises do notgenerate significant surpluses/profits.Long-term exclusiveprofessional competition rights have not yet been agreedand rival bids to operate a professional league have causedadditional disruption.

At most clubs,spectator numbers are low.Participation is also declining:three teams dropped out of the BBL for the 2006-07 season and participation is considerably lower than 10-15 years ago.There is a strong view acrossbasketball that the professional game is populated by thirdrate imported players and there is glass ceiling for aspiringindigenous professional players.

BBL has acknowledged its shortcomings.It has also stated its willingness to build capability and skills anddevelop partnerships,working closely with the NGB and the new Subsidiary Body to implement therecommendations of this review.

Figure 12:Please indicate the extent you agree or disagree with each of the following statements as a description of British Basketball League

Source:OnlineBasketball Survey 2006,Mercer Delta Consulting

Note:Percentages are based on thoseexpressing an opinions (‘Don’t Knows’are excluded).Those responding‘neither/nor’are not shown here.

Significant investment has been made available by UK Sport to support the development ofsuccessful British teams.

4.Challenges

13ULEB:Union of European Basketball Leagues: formed from (professional club) leagues of Spain,Italy,Greece,Portugal,Belgium,England,France and Switzerland.

Mallin Basketball review report 335.Recommendations

5.Recommendations

Review Group recommendations are encapsulated in 5themes (with 24 specific recommendations detailed insection 5) that will deliver a key objective:

“By 2012,double basketball participation and create a GB team that qualifies for the Olympic quarter finals.”

The five recommendations are:

1) Appoint a high calibre Chairperson to implement thisreport in its entirety

2) Reform the governing body

3) Provide sufficient funding

4) Grow sustainable grass roots participation

5) Develop World-class British teams

Despite these challengesthere is no insurmountablebarrier to generating a swiftand significant expansion ingrass roots participation orto increasing levels ofperformance.


14All recommendations in this report concerning staff of EB are subject to any impact (if applicable) of the Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment (TUPE)Regulations or similar legislation or statement of practice and/or other employee consultation requirements.

5.1 Appoint a high calibreChairperson to implement this report in its entiretyA leader is needed who is able to drive an organisation that can deliver the vision for the sport.This should be aperson of stature with commitment to the sport and strongbusiness acumen.The individual must have the characterand commitment to unite the sport and implement allthe recommendations in this report.

This appointment will be a major step towards bringing the recommendations in this report to life and meeting our key targets.We must appoint this Chairperson asquickly as possible if we wish to capitalise upon this unique window of opportunity.

5.2 Reform the governing bodySome progress has been made over the last few years andplans have been published.Encouragement can also bedrawn from the coming together of the home countries to develop a GB team.England Basketball has emergedfrom a period of financial instability.This is a significantachievement that deserves acknowledgement.

Despite this, the Review Group’s finding is that manyproblems continue to exist in relation to the structure andgovernance of the sport and that the Whole Sport Plan doesnot realise the full potential of basketball.Its view is thatfundamental change to the constitution,powers,scope andobligations of the governing body is required and that thegoverning body needs to reform in order to help the sportrealise this potential.If EB does not commit to and is unableto undertake such changes within a reasonable timescale(no more than twelve months from publication of thisreport) we believe it would be in the best interest ofbasketball for a new governing body entity to be formed to replace the existing entity.

EB should be set up to attract and retain the best people torun the sport within an appropriate management structure.Existing EB employees should be given the opportunity toapply for posts within the NGB structure14.

The NGB should deliver the vision for the sport inEngland.It should build upon existing published plans and align all remaining relevant bodies around these.As a properly empowered,well managed and fundedorganisation with the sole responsibility for the sport,it should then be able to fight basketball’s corner moreeffectively.At both national and local level it should work with enthusiasts across the country to build grass roots participation and develop the game;supporting GB national teams to compete at the highest level with distinction.

It must operate a target based performance culture andcontrol key leadership aspects of basketball in England.In particular it must in its role at growing the sport at alllevels, take responsibility for,and have a positive impactupon,the following:• Increase the presence of basketball in schools• the number,quality and distribution of quality clubs• levels of access to affordable facilities• the management and coordination of quality coaches• relationships with the professional game• commercial and philanthropic sources of funding.

The Review Group accepts that,although desirable, it is not practical at this time to attempt to create a single Britishgoverning body for basketball.However,the NGB musthave a close working relationship with Scotland and Wales.

In order to ensure the continuity of funding to the elitedevelopment programme,UK Sport and the ReviewGroup agreed that as a temporary and interim measure UK Sport would form a subsidiary company to manageand fund basketball’s elite performance operations.Its rolewould include defining the desired player pathway for eliteperformance,elite coaching,and the GB national teamculture and development.This action has DCMS andTreasury consent and the subsidiary company was set up in early 2007.

5.Recommendations

The NGB should create an environment and culture with a strong sense of belonging for those who participate in basketball.


It is planned that the British Basketball Federation (if and when recognised),acting on behalf of the threehome country basketball associations,will delegate theresponsibility for the formation and fielding of BritishSenior and Under 20 teams to the subsidiary company.In seeking recognition from the sports councils,BBF musthave representatives from each of England,Scotland andWales Basketball in membership.The Review Grouprecommends that the CEO of the NGB becomes theChairperson of the BBF.

We must ensure that the NGB and the elite basketballagenda remain firmly aligned.If recognised,BBF mustagree how the performance function is to be managed.UK Sport will set out its requirements in this respect along the lines of the template agreed with other sports that predominantly compete at home country level such as hockey,badminton,table tennis,volleyball and boxing.

If and when BBF is recognised by the Sports Councils asthe body with responsibility for overseeing British matters,it is recommended that it should delegate responsibility for operational management of the GB elite performancebasketball function to the NGB via a service levelagreement.This will replace the existing arrangementbetween BBF and the subsidiary company and allow the transfer of the subsidiary company to the NGB.

In the interim,in order to ensure effective workingpractices and communication,the NGB and the subsidiary company managing the elite basketballprogramme should be co-located.

Specifically:1)NGB • Appoint a strong,independent Chairperson

(the Review Group will support this process) to oversee and embed the new structure.

• The NGB board to contribute to the long-term vision and drive the development and promotion of the sport.

• A new constitution and board member selection process should be adopted by the NGB (See Appendix 2).

‘Game’nominees (3)

Source:Mallin Basketball Review

Group 2006

NGB Board of Directors (Maximum 10 members)

Representativenominees (2)

2 appointed bySport England

3 elected from ‘the game’

Initially appointedby Government onrecommendation of Review Group

In future,chairappointed byNominationCommittee

Appointed byNominationsCommittee on basis of expertise,experience etc.

Chair (1) Board nominees(Up to 3) CEO

2) Figure 13: NGB:Proposed Board Structure

Mallin Basketball review report36 5.Recommendations

4)Introduce the NGB directors and procedures • Two to be nominated by Sport England:these need

not be drawn from the organisation.Whilst they will,no doubt,have some responsibility to Sport England they will act independently in the best interests of thesport as they see fit.

• Three to be elected by eligible members/stakeholders of the NGB (to be defined – by interim chair inconsultation with Sport England).

• An initial/interim chairperson to be approved by SportEngland,acting upon the recommendation of theReview Group.That person to become the new Chair of the NGB.Thereafter the Chair to be appointed by theNominations Committee.S/he could be drawn from (a) or (b) above or be an outside appointment.

• Up to 3 additional directors can be appointed by the Nominations Committee.

• The Board should be limited to (say) 10 in total.• Elected members and additional directors (see above)

to serve for a period of 3 years.• Chairperson and CEO to serve for a period of 4 years.

5)Introduce a Nominations Committee • To be set up under the Constitution of the NGB.• To (initially) consist of the Sport England nominees,

one elected member and the Chairperson.• It is suggested that the constitutional arrangements

for the Nominations Committee be reviewed after 5 years.New arrangements to be decided upon by the then Board.

6)Create a new Constitution • Probably a company limited by guarantee.• Sports councils can change their nominees at any time.• Constitution can only be changed by a 75% majority

of the 5 representative and game nominees and theChairman.In all other matters the NGB directors should each have one vote.

7)Create a Remuneration CommitteeThe remuneration and incentives for executives of thecompany should be based on achieving the objective and key targets including financial and commercialperformance.Incentives should be based on short termperformance and sustainable impact at least covering the tenure of senior appointments (likely minimum 3-4 year contracts).

The 4 year financial plan (reflecting Olympic 4 year cycles)should therefore be agreed by the Board and then providedto the Remuneration Committee as a basis for developingappropriate incentives.

3) Expand the scope and accountability of the NGB• Other existing bodies and their roles,responsibilities

and functions to become part of the NGB.- The BCA as an entity and its functions to be brought

back fully into the NGB which should work directlywith coaches via its professional staff and regions to develop a system that delivers quality coaches (and coaching) at all levels

• It will be the agency with which all others work with respect to basketball:- Build strong,mutually beneficial,relationship

with the professional game.- Encourage agencies to ‘feed’players into affiliated

clubs and develop mechanisms to recruit talentedplayers via these structures.

- Increase the presence and quality of basketball in schools and clubs via support to volunteers in local communities.

- Learn from other providers and utilise new andinnovative mechanisms to enable young people in inner-city/urban areas to access affiliated clubs and player development pathways.

- Work with/through other agencies to record/registerplayers and participants.

• The Review Group would also strongly encourage theNGB to,in due course, initiate a dialogue with a view toScotland and Wales combining in an all encompassingBritish body.

• Build upon existing published plans and align all relevantpartner bodies around a common vision.

• The NGB should operate a target based performanceculture – involved in setting performance objectives anddriving execution to deliver against these.

• The Subsidiary Company should be responsible for theelite development programme.

• Support and work closely with the Senior Managementof the Subsidiary Company on player/team developmentstructures and processes proposed by the PerformanceDirector and the relevant head coaches.

• Work closely with the Subsidiary Company to establishand agree protocols for the management anddevelopment of talented players.


Source:Mallin Basketball Review Group 2006

Figure 14:NGB – Proposed Management team and responsibilities

NGB Board

Director:Finance/Admin

Main responsibilities:

• Finance & budgetarymanagement

• Resource management• General office management• ICT systems & support• Human resources• Health & safety

Director of Participation

Main areas of responsibility

• Regional development staff & work programmes

• Facilities – dedicated• Partner facilities – access• Coach development• Club development• Competitions/Officials• Equity (attracting & retainingplayers from all sections of society)

• Basketball in schools/FE/HE

Commercial Director

Main responsibilities:

• Sponsorship• Merchandising• TV• Events• Venue relationships• Joint work with professional league

• Sales of services & equipment• Membership related services & revenues

CEO

5.Recommendations

8)Management structure (see figure 14 proposed)• The CEO may be appointed by the Chairperson in

consultation with Sport England and the Review Group.• Thereafter the CEO may be appointed by the

Nominations Committee on a 4 year renewable contractwith 12 months’notice provision.

• The reformed NGB will, subject to the direction of theChairperson and the CEO,appoint three departmentaldirectors:Finance and Admin,Participation andCommercial (see figure 14).

• The team of regional ‘development managers’,led by a head of development,should rise from 4 to 9:- 1 in each Sport England region.- Each should have administrative support and access to

a flexible revenue budget (reflecting national targets andregional characteristics) to enable him/her to achievetargets set to develop the sport in that region.

• Key priorities for the work and measurement of theprofessional HQ and regional staff teams are outlined in Figure 15.

• Increase the NGB staff headcount from c20 to c40.• The NGB must employ staff with the skills and capacity

to advocate,develop,promote,maintain and extendstrong,positive relationships with key national agencies(e.g.,DCMS,Sport England,UK Sport,YST,Sportsmatch,running sports,Clubmark,SCUK,Skills Active).

Descriptions of work responsibilities in figures 14-15 areindicative.Further consideration must be given to how,where and why specific operational areas are coordinated.

9)We make the following recommendations to thestructure and responsibilities of the BBF:• 1 representative of BB Scotland• 1 representative of BB Wales• 1 representative of the NGB • 1 appointee of UK Sport*

• 1 Chairperson (expected to be the CEO of the NGB )* Need not be a member of UK Sport but someone they believe would

make an important contribution to the Board

The BBF should be responsible for the following areas (list not exhaustive):

• Overall strategy for GB teams (over 18).• All financial matters related to elite performance.• Engagement with FIBA and the British

Olympic Association.• Managing Subsidiary Body staff.

A Performance Director should be hired.S/he shouldreport directly and exclusively to the Chairman of theBoard.They should be accountable to the entire Board for the implementation of the following strategic areas (list not exhaustive):

• Develop/manage GB teams.• Develop/manage elite player pathways.• Team selection.• Liaison with home country organisations.• Defining and communicating with the rest of the

sport in relation to talented player development pathways for young players.


Figure 15:NGB – Proposed Participation Directorate

Director of Participation

Regional/NationalDevelopment Team

Manager

Coach DevelopmentManager

Facilities ManagerNational JuniorSquads/Teams

Manager

9 RDMs (I per SportEngland region (plus 1/2 time admin.posts)

Directorate admin team

To deliver:• Club development

& Clubmark• Relations;S/E regions• Relations:other

NGBs (regionally)• Relations;CSPs/other

local partners• Presence in schools/ SSPs• Expand & manage

CSC network• Local volunteer

development

Linked support post(s)

Coachingdevelopment (1):• Qualified coach numbers• Coach affiliation/

distribution• CSCs - programme• Coaches – in clubs/schools• Coach qualifying

– teachers• UKCC implementation

Covering:• Access to existing..• Developing new..• Commercial partnerships• Case-making• BSF• Liaison – FE/HE• CCDP & other grants• Work with other

agencies (eg- FA Business DevelopmentManager role)

Coachingdevelopment (2):• Link to PD/head coaches• Upskilling/training• Technical/tactical input;

linked to PD• Junior talent ID

– linked to PD

Covering:• Appointing coaches to

U16/ U18 girls/boysteams.

• Managing talent IDsystems and processes.

• Arranging internationalcompetition

• Securing adequatefacilities/funds to runjunior squads.

National CompetitionsManager

Schools & Colleges Officials Manager

Linked support posts..

To cover:• Club competition

management• Tracking progress/

addressing deficiencies• Work;independent

leagues• ID-ing weaknesses

(e.g.girls)

Work in/with/on:• Teacher training colleges• DfES/YST• (Via RDMs & CSPs) SSPs• Promotion &

development of mini-basketball product & presence

• With Facilities Manager – BSF,school facilityprogramming

• Academies programme• School > club links• Links to HE/BUSA

Equity Manager

To cover:• Child Protection• Staff training• Perf.measurement• Player tracking• Recruitment >

mainstream basketball

To cover:• Inter-schools competition

- national (former ESBBA function)

• Generating intelligenceabout & supporting morelocal schools competition

• Tracking progress/addressing deficiencies

• Competition managers• Links to BUSA

competitions

Cover referees & tableofficials:• Increased numbers

of qualified;prof.& voluntary

• Improved standards• Distribution• Upgrading/training• Affiliations• Club/competition

demand links

Source:Mallin Basketball Review Group 2007

5.Recommendations


5.3 Provide sufficient fundingWithout sufficient funds it is highly unlikely that successwill be achieved.Basketball must be empowered to makethe required step change by being allocated a level offunding support to achieve this,directly tied to interimevaluation of performance.

The NGB should be launched with a structure that wouldbe capable of making a change in the development of thesport.This will require funding significantly in excess of that presently allocated to EB.It should be provided on the understanding that over time income generated viaother routes will account for a steadily increasingproportion of annual expenditure.

The higher budget proposed should be made available for a minimum of three years following the implementationof recommendation 2 and reviewed in the light of progressagainst set targets.All funds presently allocated to EB by Sport England should be transferred to the NGB.Total income required to run the NGB as envisaged inrecommendation 2 will be around £3.25m per annum.This has been calculated on a bottom up basis and shouldenable the headcount to increase from around 20 to about 40 staff.It will allow the NGB to attract greater levels of expertise and skills from within the marketplace.

Commercial income (including membership fees) shouldprovide up to £1m based on EB’s current income fromthese sources,thereby leaving £2.25m to be fundedelsewhere.

The recommendation is that Sport England should provideannual funding to the NGB totalling at least £1.7m perannum.This is an additional £1.2m in funding per annumabove the planned £0.5m funding to EB for 07/08 WholeSport Plan.

UK Sport will provide a further £1.5m per annum to thesubsidiary company for GB elite performance basketball.The subsidiary company will require a central overheadcapability to function effectively.The NGB should providethis support and should be compensated at a fair marketrate,which we estimate to be £150K.

This leaves a funding gap of £0.40m to which the NGBmanagement will need to find an early solution.£0.25m isa result of the fact that the cost of the elite youth activitydoes not appear to fall within the remit of either UK Sportor Sport England for which a contingency reserve of£0.15m has been added.The Review Group believes that the strategy it isrecommending procedure will in time lead to reformedgenerating significant commercial revenues over and abovethe funding outlined above.As commercial revenuesdevelop and are reinvested in basketball, the Review Grouprecommends that public funding must be maintained andnot reduced as long as targets are being achieved.This willenable basketball to grow at an accelerated pace towards thebenchmarks set by major European countries such as Spain,France and Germany.

Formal funding discussions have taken place with SportEngland and we are encouraged by the support they havegiven.The formal job of the Chairperson will be to submit funding applications to Sport England.

Over the next five years the NGB will also need to derive substantially more income from both commercialand philanthropic activity at national and local levels.Staff should be hired with professional skills in rightsmanagement to ensure that commercial opportunity andvalue is maximized.The NGB should work with thetemporary Subsidiary Company,the professional leagueand clubs to split the rights in an equitable way,using other federations as examples of how this might work.

The NGB should belaunched with a structure that would be capable ofmaking a change in thedevelopment of the sport.

5.Recommendations


5.4 Grow sustainable grass roots participationStrong processes to drive basketball access to existing and planned facilities are required.This should beunderpinned by a carefully planned and conducted audit of present levels of basketball facility access,affordability and security of tenure.

The club base will be expanded to provide to thegeographically well distributed clubs with capacity tooffer quality opportunities to the local community.

5.Recommendations

Specifically:10) Increase of £1.2m in funding from Sport

England (£1.7m total per annum)• The key application of the increase will be to offset costs

from an increase in staff quality and quantity within theNGB.Headcount should increase by net 16-19 FTEs.

• Costs associated with the elite scope of SubsidiaryCompany £1.5m have not been included in thereformed budget with the exception of £150k income to the NGB from the provision of head office overheadsupport e.g.membership,subscriptions,merchandising,media,sponsorship.

11) Diversify into other non-funded income sources• Appoint and incentivise senior management and

staff to develop the commercial potential of the game and optimise return on investment across the Sport.Government funding should not be cut if commercial3rd party sources increase as this creates a disincentive and basketball will suffer.

• Create a plan to derive substantially more income(currently £1m) from other non funded sources e.g.media,sponsorship and other commercial activity at national and local level.

• Create a plan to fill the funding gap of £0.40m.

12) The NGB should work closely with the otherHome Countries, the professional league and the Subsidiary Company to:

• Support the full aims of the report.• Look how to share future 3rd party revenue and channel

it back to achieve maximum impact for the whole sport.

A programme should be designed and actively managed to produce consistently higher coach quality,availability and distribution.The NGB should (working closely with the Subsidiary Company) implement processes to enhanceunderstanding of performance requirements,identify and develop effective talent and put in place appropriatelystructured and available competition.

The NGB management structure should ensure thatpartnerships are more effectively managed.Increased staff numbers at regional level will ensure a seamless player pathway between school,club and higher levels of performance.

The specific areas which are crucial to developing thestrength,sustainability and growth of the sport are:• Facilities• Coaching• Clubs• Competition • Partnerships


13) Assess opportunity and make case to upgradefacilities via opportunities from the following:

• Assess development of an arena facility by London 2012 and whether to locate the NGB main office at this venue as part of its legacy strategy.

• Investigate the feasibility of a partnership (with LOCOG,professional league,club/arena operator,other developer)to develop an arena venue to host international matches,major domestic competition,conferences etc.

• Assess opportunity to work with/through the BSFprogramme to impact upon the availability andaccessibility of school indoor basketball facilities.

• Develop and market equipment and resources enabling basketball to be easily offered in adapted primary schools environments.

14) National liaison direct with P4S,Sport England,YST and key leisure operators plus work at CSP/SSP level to influence local decision-making on facilities development

15) Allocate significant resource to securingaffordable access to the right facilities

• Set targets (reflecting the objective laid out in the action plan).

• Improve basketball availability in primary/junior and secondary schools.

• Develop ‘clusters’of facilities (and teams/clubs) to demonstrate actual and latent demand.

• Target work to support facility development in areasserviced by Clubmark (or beacon) clubs or in which it is feasible to develop ‘clusters’of activity linked to an accessible facility base.

• Make better use of CCDP (or successor programme) funds pursuing basketball specific objectives and viapartnerships with other sports with comparable needs (e.g.,netball,volleyball,badminton).

16) Build working partnerships with local authorities, schools,commercial contractors/trust operators to:

• Support development of basketball facilities they manageand the development of dedicated basketball centres.

17) Create and implement a plan,system andappropriate resources to recruit, train,and retain quality coaches

• Establish specific,linked,adequately resourced posts tomanage the development of coaches (including elitecoaches).

• Develop a coach licensing system so that qualified coachesmust stay affiliated to the NGB in order to retain a validcoaching licence.

• Market,promote and implement a system to encourage all agencies when engaging a coach to seek out and uselicensed coaches.

• Incentivise licensed coaches to be part of this process via a well-structured range of courses,conferences,materials and easy access to the new UKCC coaching certification system.

• Develop a ‘coach talent ID’system to support ambitious,quality coaches to be fast-tracked and exposed toopportunity at the right levels (in England and abroad) to develop their skills.This should be managed inconjunction with the Subsidiary Company.

• Deliver directive work in teacher training and CPD environments.

• Provide accessible technical guidance for teachers working in a range of settings.

• Work with professional league clubs to develop and improve elite coach development processes.

Mallin Basketball review report42 5.Recommendations

18) Review the club network and make changes,key elements of this should include:

• The NGB to assess new catalysts for club growth e.g.work with schools activities.

• Extend club network to areas where the presence of thesport is limited and reinforce where they already flourish.

• Assess and improve support to clubs across key areas:- Quality and availability of facilities- Accreditation (Clubmark) and school-club links- Coach recruitment and development.

• Combine facilities planning,coach and club developmentwork so that,at up to national league levels the majority of people playing competitive basketball are able to do sowithin (say) a maximum of one hour’s travel from theirclub home base.

• Link and relate plans for development with the strengthand willingness of the sport itself in key areas and thedisposition of key local partners.

• Use the management information at the sport’s disposal to make informed decisions about where resource shouldbe allocated to achieve this.

• Progressively seek to configure league and competitionstructures to embrace leagues and clubs.

19) Streamline and improve the competition structure

• Actively promote club competition ‘clustering’thusreducing direct costs and the costs of time and travel related barriers.

• Actively encourage local area schools competition‘clustering’thus reducing direct costs and the impact oftime and travel related barriers.

• Support local schools competition and build competitionpromotion into its work.

• Consider schools affiliation as part of a wider package,using greater presence to build upon localised inter-schoolcompetition and attract more to enter county and regional events.

• Adopt a strategy to strengthen competition structures forschools basketball linked to wider processes to encourageand develop the strength and presence of the sport inschools perse.

• Adopt a strategy to strengthen competition structures for club basketball linked to wider processes to encourageand develop the strength and presence of the sport.

• Work with the professional game to ensure that clubs (or a composite team) enter (and are competitive in)European club competition (FIBA/ULEB) so talentedplayers get access to high level club competition.

20) Plan resources around developing officials to support the competition structure

• Allocate staffing and/or budgetary resource to audit thenumber,distribution and availability of officials and todevelop the base of referees and table officials in the sport.

• Develop plans to provide adequate numbers of officialsqualified at the requisite levels to effectively service thegame – at all levels.

• Consider issues associated with the increasing cost ofhiring officials and the impact this does/could have on the affordability of competition – at all levels.

21) Work towards a position where there is (withinthree years) a basketball development ‘presence’(paid/voluntary/honorarium based) in each of the 49 CSPs in England.

• Set targets for each CSP,based upon localconditions/circumstances e.g.:- Specific numbers of Clubmark accreditations.- Specific densities of active affiliated coaches at each

relevant level.- Specific competition structures;clubs,schools etc.- Club-links achievement.

• Assess the specific potential value of basketball regions:and whether/how they can be linked more effectively into the Delivery System for Sport,with an eye to gainingaccess to regionally allocated development resources.


5.5 Develop a world-class British team The NGB should work closely with UK Sport and theSubsidiary Company to significantly improve theperformance of GB elite basketball.Together they willremove barriers to British representation,address issues suchas release planning for contracts and costly insurance;andimplement a satisfactory talented player pathway.Theoutcome should be the very best GB squad drawn togetherfrom British elite talent around the world.

Furthermore,the professional league should set up a workinggroup with the NGB with the aim of co-ordinating activityso as to support the development of basketball throughoutthe country.Specifically this will ensure that it plays anincreasing role in grass roots development and talentpathways and becomes an integral part of the talented/eliteplayer development system.

Specific activities could include entering a composite team inthe Euroleague.There is an argument for housing this teamelsewhere but for maximum commercial impact London isthe natural home.There would be a requirement to centrallyfund the British core of the team with a further 2 or 3 highstandard foreign nationals as necessary and coach selection isof critical importance.The British core could be placed withexisting clubs for domestic competition and could be builtaround the national elite squad (or aspiring squad members).

It would add considerable value to the commercial andmedia propositions/opportunity for the sport.There wouldbe a requirement for special dispensation from Euroleague,but this should not be a major barrier.

Specifically:

22) Develop a clear performance pathway and a successful British team:

• Define a clear performance pathway for talented playersincluding opportunities for the identification and fasttracking of exceptional talent.

• Create a culture of commitment to winning within the British team,through professional management andimplementation of World-Class standards.

• The NGB should also consider whether and how majorinternational events can be hosted in England to enableBritish national teams and squads and professional clubsto gain maximum access to top class competition.

23) Develop a strong professional league• The professional league to set up a working group with

the NGB and the Subsidiary Company with the aim ofco-ordinating activity so as to support the developmentof basketball throughout the country.Activities shouldinclude a reassessment of the league structure and furtherreview of its policies on player eligibility.The professionalleague can play an increasing role in grass-rootdevelopment and talent pathways and play a keysupporting role in the elite development system.

• The NGB Commercial Directorate to put in place astrong partnership with professional clubs.This will raisestandards of play,commercial income and the sponsorshippotential of the sport and the professional game learnfrom the best elements of successful European models.

24) Raise the profile of basketball and enhance wider media exposure of the sport

• Promote the sport in schools at national/local level bothdirectly and via agencies such as the YST and the AfPE.

• Work closely with PE and school sport (SSPs - includingthe new ‘competition managers’).

• Ensure television coverage of key GB games.• Raise the profile of GB senior international teams and

individual players.

The NGB should also consider whether and how major international events can be hosted in England to enable British national teams andsquads and professional clubs to gain maximumaccess to top class competition.

5.Recommendations


A focused and unified approach is required to meet thevision for basketball.The NGB should adopt a target based performance culture to achieve this.An independentevaluation of performance against targets should beconducted on an annual basis in order to determine the NGB progress and to define a timescale for BBF todelegate the management of elite performance to theNGB.In additional to the key targets 1 - 20 in the executivesummary further targets are contained in this sectionnumbered 1-33.

6.Targets

6.Targets


Organisation Targets Measurement

Organisation 1) By December 2007 CEO and Management team appointed and reformed organisationalstructure in place.

2) By December 2008 achieve a clear and alignedsense of direction,driven by an organisation that is accountable for and better equipped to deliver the required improvements.

3) By June 2008 all staff appointed to the NGB staff(complement should rise from c20 to c40).

Governance 4) The sport should be managed by a reformed governing body with a remit to manage all facets of the game in England including futuredelegated elite performance operations.

Staff 5) Attract and retain the best people to run the sport.

Funding 6) By Dec 2007 agree recommended funding fromSport England and UK Sport and submit allrelevant funding applications

Mallin Review Group progressappraisal – Jan 08 and Jan 09

Baseline online survey 2006

Re-conduct online survey 2008>

Mallin Review Group/Sport Englandprogress appraisal – Jan 08

OrganisationAn accountable,effective governing body which is valued by all stakeholders is a prerequisite to delivering the recommendations in this review.However,to put this in motion,nothing less than a focused,unified approachcoupled with sufficient funding to attract and retain qualityresources will be needed.

While development of elite players and nationalteams/squads require specialist input and support,it is vitalthat the overall management and operation of basketball is as integrated as possible to provide the coordinated approachwhich is essential to achieving a step change.

6.Targets



Teams / Clubs 7) By 2012 double the number of registeredteams/clubs

8) By April 2009 at least one affiliated/Clubmarkbasketball club that offers opportunity and coachingto young people in each SSP/local authority in England

9) By April 2010 at least one basketball club withClubmark accreditation in each SSP/local authority in England

10) By April 2008 all professional league clubs - Clubmark accredited

Participation 11) By 2012 to double the number of registered players.

12) By 2012 bring the sport into the national ‘top 10’asmeasured via Sport England’s ‘Active People survey.

Facilities 13) By 2008 agree facilities target

14) By 2012 deliver facilities target

15) Ensure that the specification of all new sports halls built (in schools and freestanding) meet thespatial (and fixed equipment) specification needs of basketball

16) By 2011 establish a minimum of one double(basketball) court hall in each of the 49 CSP areas.

17) With CSPs secure each Clubmark club locallyaffordable facility access.

Report to Sport England and UK Sport by the reformed EB

Baseline Sport England ‘Active People Survey 2006

Survey >2007

Conduct Audit of Facilities

ParticipationA substantial increase in the availability of quality facilities and coaching is vital to the development of the sport at all levels.

Tackling issues around these will take time and a major transformation of the sport can be achieved over this period.

6.Targets


Coaching 18) Establish a national coaches/coaching management,development and deployment system.

19) By 2010 have at least one CSC in each CSP.

20) By 2012 have (at least) one (part-time) basketballCSC in each SSP.

21) By Sep 2010 all active coaches are ‘licensed’(affiliated to) the NGB.By Sep 2010 all agencieslooking to use basketball coaches committed toonly utilising the reformed EB licensed coaches.

Competitions 22) Increase the quantity,quality,affordability andaccessibility of basketball club competition.

23) Increase the quantity,quality,of basketball refereesand table officials.

Audit process via system

Audit policy of key partner agencies

Regular club survey

Conduct audit of referees and officials


Performance Targets Measurement

World Ranking 24) By end of 2007 GB Men’s team to be promoted toA division of the Eurobasket.

25) Jun 2008 men’s team performing well in A division.

26) End 2008 Women’s team leading the B division.

27) By the end of 2011 British teams to secure the right to compete in the Olympic Games

28) Track the performance of International women’steams and those at relevant age group levels

29) By 2008 create and implement a trackingmechanism for the identification and development of emergent elite players

Professional 30) By Dec 2007 Professional League to set up a League working group with NGB with the aim of

coordinating activity on elite development including:

• Collective approaches to TV linking televising of the national squads’games (men’s and women’s)to coverage of the professional league

• Linking professional club programmes at all levelsto talent ID and development processes

31)Build strong partnership with Professional League in order to create a high quality,viable professionalleague driving involvement in European club competition

32) Enter a composite team in the Euroleague.

Competitions 33) By 2014 attract 2 major world class basketball eventsto UK,e.g.Euroleague Finals,FIBA Eurobasket2013,FIBA World Championship 2014

Baseline FIBA Rankings 2006

FIBA Rankings 2007 >

TBD

TBD and conduct Survey 2008

PerformanceIt is possible to establish a virtuous circle whereby improved national team performance and a substantiallyhigher quality professional league will raise the sport’sprofile and,therefore,popularity.

This will bring increased media exposure and sponsorshipwith the resulting financial benefits.In turn,this will helpfuel expansion at grassroots level.Significant improvementsin the performance of the sport at all levels are achievablewithin five years.

6.Targets


7.Next Steps1.Agree with all key stakeholders the recommendations within this report.

2.Secure funding.• Submit funding application to secure £1.7m from Sport England.• Agree market rate of £0.15m to be paid to the NGB by the Subsidiary Company for overhead provision.

• Create a plan for £1m commercial income.• Create a plan to fill £0.40m funding gap.

3. Initiate the formal process to appoint a Chairperson of the NGB for a 4 year term.His/her immediate role should be to:• Implement the recommendations in this report in its entirety.• Oversee the reform of EB.• Appoint a CEO to the NGB.• Put in place a systematic performance management framework in the NGB.• Outline a remuneration approach to incentivise and reward staff high performance.

4.Establish a quarterly report by NGB CEO to Sport England and UK Sport on the implementation of this plan.

5.Sport England to make available funds (over and above those detailed above)totalling £300k to begin implementation of the recommendations of this report.

7.Next Steps


8.Appendices

APPENDIX 1:List of Consultees

Consultee Agency Title/role

Terry Donovan EB Chair - EB

Keith Mair EB CEO- EB

Jeff Jones EB/BBF EB board director/Head coach England U20 men’s team

Kevin Hibbs EB Board director/Regional Chair – South East

Peter Morton EB Board director

Angela Francis EB Former Board director

Eddie Allen EB Former Board director

Ken Nottage EB Former Board director

Betty Codona EB Former chair

Graham Jones EB Former CEO/Sport England

Steve Nelson EB Former EB head of development / Sport West County Sport Partnership Manager

Steve Darlow EB National Clubs Development Manager

Sam Spare EB Development Manager (South)

Steve Alexander EB London Development Manager

Brian Aldred EB Coach Development Manager

Graham Blankley EB Education and Events Officer / ESBBA liaison

Nicky Brown EB National Leagues Manager

Todd Cauthorn EB National Facilities Manager / BBL player

Radmila Turner EB (Former) Performance Manager

Pete Scantlebury EB England C-Games men’s head coach

Bernard Ball EB Regional Chair – East

Micky Byrne EB Regional Chair - South

Collette Allerston EB Regional Chair – North West

Martin Spencer Mini-basketball Education Officer

Paul Blake BBL Chair:BBL / CEO:Newcastle Eagles

Yuri Matischen BBL Director:Westfield Sheffield Sharks

Sarah Backovic BBL Vice Chair:BBL /Westfield Sheffield Sharks

John Timms BBL Westfield Sheffield Sharks – Study Support Centre Manager

8.Appendices



Vince McCauley BBL MD:Milton Keynes Lions

Gary Stronach BBL Plymouth Raiders - Head Coach

Bill McInnes BBF Chairbasketballscotland Chair

Sandy Sutherland GBB Chairbasketballscotland Board Member

Trevor Pountain GBB Secretary

Nick Stonard GBB Treasurer

Martin Bland BBF Administrator

Ian Reid BBL Scottish Phoenix Honda Rocks - Director

Andy Powlesland EBL/BUSA Chairman - Brixton Top CatsSouth Bank University - Director of Sport

Jimmy Rogers EBL Brixton Top Cats

Roger Moreland ESBBA Chair

N Waldron ESBBA National Secretary

John Collins BCA Chair

Charlie Bethel GBWBA Chief Executive

Steve Spilka GBWBA Secretary

Gordon Perry EB/GBWBA Former EB Disability Development Manager

Bob Elphinston FIBA President

Zoran Radovic FIBA Development Manager

Paul Stimpson FIBA Television Development

Patrick Baumann FIBA Secretary General

Ieuan Jones basketball Wales Chair

Will Jones basketball Wales Chief Executive

John Amaechi EB Board directorABC Foundation Chair

Joe Forber GM Youth Basketball Club Director/Coach

Maggie Forber GM Youth Basketball Club

Ian Loxton Loxton Centres CEO/owner

Mark Brian BUSA Head of Sports Programmes

Wes Grant BUSA Sports Programme Manager – basketball

Guy Taylor TASS/BUSA National Manager

8.Appendices



Humphrey Long Club coach

Richard Saunders Greater (Manchester) Chief ExecutiveSport CSP

Michael Ball Gosport SSP Partnership Manager

Stuart Lindeman P4S Regional Education Director

Kevin Cadle Sky Sports Broadcaster & former England national coach

John Brewer GlaxoSmithKline Business Director:Nutritional Healthcare

G Sutcliffe MP DCMS Minister of State (Sport)

Deidre Hayes Coach – English Universities

Lorraine Landon Basketball Australia General Manager,National Teams/ Competitions

Luol Deng NBA player Chicago Bulls

David Stern NBA Commissioner

Mel Welch Former General Secretary:EB.Former Secretary British and Irish basketball Fed.

Terry McEntee Suffolk Sport Partnership Manager - Suffolk

Kathryn James Suffolk Sport Basketball Development Coordinator

Nick Drane Ipswich BC Community coach

Mike Burton Chester Jets – Asst Coach & Director:Schools

Sue Campbell UK Sport Chair

Liz Nicholl UK Sport Director of Performance

Hamish McInnes Consultant to BBL

Joshua Nochimson 24/7 Sports Management Luol Deng representative

Huw Jones Sports Council for Wales Chief Executive

Mark Frost Sports Council for Wales Governing Bodies

Kelly Parkynn England Netball Former National Club Links Manager

Mike Reynolds Sportsmatch CEO

Steve Nelson West of England CEOSport Partnership

Sincere thanks to those who responded to the electronic survey and/or emailed their comments to the Review Team.

8.Appendices

Mallin Basketball review report52 Notes

Mallin Basketball review report 53Notes

Mallin Basketball review report54 Notes

In association with

mallin review copy

Documents

sport of basketball

performance of basketball

basketball review group

teachers basketball

sport flourish

sport england welcomesevents

gb international basketball

sport england martin