The controlling joint-stock company "Basketball Holding Company", which manages the Vilnius "Wolves" basketball club, founded the company "Sandstorm Shooters DMCC" in the free economic zone of Dubai, which was granted a license for commercial activities.
The eponymous basketball club established by this company will aim to compete in the local league of the United Arab Emirates.
in 2013 7 teams compete in the established UAE National Basketball League. All of them are owned by the public sector, making the Sandstorm Shooters the first privately-owned club to compete in the championship of the Arabian Peninsula nation.
According to current international rules, clubs registered in other countries or teams participating in national championships of other countries are allowed to play official matches of their championships or international tournaments, such as the Euroleague or the European Cup, in Dubai, Abu Dhabi or another city in the country only after receiving the approval of the UAE Basketball Federation.
Also, in order to participate in the championships of this country, it is necessary that the joining of a new club be approved by all the clubs fighting in them. Without permits and approvals, only exhibition or recreational basketball matches can be held in the UAE. Therefore, a team from Dubai or another city in the UAE will have to play in the local basketball championship if they want to participate in European club basketball tournaments.
With this in mind, Sandstorm Shooters DMCC has applied to the UAE Basketball Federation to become a member of the local championship.
According to Andriaus Žiauberis, head of AB "Basketball Holding Company", this is the first big step towards realizing the vision of the company's development.
"One of our long-term goals is to expand the company's operating markets, creating maximum value for the business organization. Therefore, next to Vilnius Wolves, a club is being established in Dubai. All existing and future clubs managed by the Basketball Holding Company will be managed from the headquarters in Lithuania according to the "back office" principle and standards - a unified player database, common management experiences, sales of consolidated brands and player rotation between the company's clubs.
Our strategic plans are focused on Europe and the Middle East region. Similarly, only on a larger scale, the City Football Group holding company operates, managing more than 10 football clubs in New York, Mumbai, Melbourne, Manchester, Yokohama and elsewhere," said A. Žiauberis.
At the same time, he assured that the "Wolves" club will continue its activities in the capital of Lithuania.
"We want to clarify that the Wolves club will not be moved to Dubai. He will remain in Vilnius and continue to fight in both Lithuanian and European tournaments, having his own separate budget, infrastructure and administrative resources. Players can be loaned to the new club, the organization of joint summer training camps cannot be ruled out," added A. Žiauberis.
The establishment of a new club is the first step in the development of Basketball Holding Company. In the future, it is consistently planned to continue its development by selling the basketball product in other European or Middle Eastern cities with high purchasing power that do not have Euroleague teams.
