FIBA - Prospective agents put through paces at House of Basketball

MIES - The House of Basketball on Tuesday 29 October hosted its first FIBA Agents test session, an important step in the process to become a FIBA certified agent.

The group that came to FIBA's headquarters on the outskirts of Geneva to take the certification test was noticeable once again, as a good few of those taking the test were former players and coaches looking for an avenue to remain active in the sport.

Among them was former Germany international Uwe Sauer, who enjoyed a very successful basketball career in Germany from 1985 to 1997, winning titles with Cologne and Bayreuth and stepped out at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics.

After his playing career ended, Sauer turned to coaching for more than a decade and now is looking forward to a new role as an agent.

"I used to play in the German League for 13 years and I also played in the Olympics against Michael Jordan, which remains my greatest memory," he said.

"I'm still basketball crazy and becoming an agent is a good way to stay involved.

"I want to help young players find a good situation as it's something I have been through as a player myself. I have also seen the other side too, when bringing players in as a coach.

"I have been thinking about it for the last two years since retiring from coaching. My friend is an established agent in Germany and wants me to be a partner in an agency.

"I am a rookie agent and came to this beautiful facility to do the test and I am pleased not only to pass it, but to meet many different people from different countries during the process. It is always great to have a good network of contacts."

Former women's player Petra Dubovcova-Soosova was also impressed with the surroundings for the test and excitedly looking forward to getting started in her new career, which will keep her involved with the sport.

"I played for the Slovak Republic at youth level, both at the European Championships and FIBA World Championships. I then played NCAA basketball in the States before playing professionally in France and Belgium," she said of her playing career.

"I have been coaching a little bit, I used to coach young kids and now I'm hoping to use all my contacts to start an agency.

Soosova hopes to cater to a category that didn't really exist during her playing days.

"Certainly there were not so many female agents around during my own career," she pointed out.

The very first FIBA Agents test session took place in March 2007 and the certification process has resulted in almost 500 licensed agents around the world.

With an average of three sessions a year on offer, respectively in Switzerland, in the Americas and in Oceania, the number of licensees is still increasing steadily.

With such active and efficient representatives operating on a global scale and working in close collaboration with its members national federations, FIBA has managed to regulate the international transfers of players to noticeably improve the basketball environment.

FIBA