Spanish Basketball Federation President visits Tercentenary Sports Hall

Elisa Aguilar López, President of the Spanish Basketball Federation, visited the Rock this Saturday, accompanied by her entourage and long-time basketball friend, GABBA President John Goncalves.

Her visit came as a surprise to many, coinciding with both this Saturday’s Cádiz League youth match at the Tercentenary Sports Hall between GABBA and La Inmaculada de Ceuta, and Spain’s national team fixtures in La Línea.

The visit — a historic occasion — was an opportunity to see first-hand the facilities where Spanish regional teams currently play when facing Gibraltar’s youth teams in the Cádiz regional leagues.

With Gibraltar once again officially registering teams across various categories, elite youth players have been given another chance to compete in the regional leagues as officials aim to increase player experience and provide a greater variety of opposition than is possible when playing solely against Gibraltar-based teams.

The renewed relationship has faced some minor issues, with a small number of teams refusing to travel to Gibraltar. This weekend saw some instances where Gibraltar’s home matches had to be played in La Línea and Los Barrios instead. However, this has not detracted from the overall participation, with the majority of teams providing strong support, resulting in a relatively seamless reintroduction of Gibraltar teams into the Cádiz League. Similar refusals to play in Ceuta have further highlighted that the issue is centred around only a handful of teams, who appear to be using administrative policies as an excuse to gain competitive advantage — such as forcing opponents to play away — rather than due to any political reasoning. Notably, one of the teams refusing to play is led by a coach from Gibraltar.

The presence of the Spanish Federation President in Gibraltar was of significant importance, highlighting the close basketball ties between Gibraltar and Spain — relations that have matured over recent decades thanks in part to the involvement of Gibraltar’s own president within FIBA ranks.

During the visit, Elisa Aguilar López, herself a former Spanish international, met players and coaches ahead of the match and was given a tour of the venue following a wider visit around Gibraltar.