The big interview with Alain Contensoux, CEO and Technical Director of FFBB: « We know how to do things very well, but we don’t know how to sell them »

One year after the triumph of the Paris Olympics, where French basketball won three silver medals and its youth teams captured four European titles, summer 2025 came as a brutal reality check. No titles for youth categories, a historic fourth place for the women’s national team, and an early elimination of the men’s team against Georgia in the EuroBasket round of 16.

Critics were harsh. Yet Alain Contensoux refuses to panic. Having joined the Federation in 2010 after notable stints at the Sports Ministry and French Tennis Federation alongside Patrice Dominguez, he has seen many cycles. « It’s always more complicated to stay at the very top, regardless of the sport, » he states from the outset, reminding us of a truth sometimes forgotten in the demand for immediate results.

The reality of a changing European competition

The leader hides nothing: « Today in European basketball, Italy has made very strong progress with youth teams. Germany has implemented criteria in their training centers for over a decade now to truly have high-quality coaching. » Spain launched its U22 league last weekend to counter NCAA influence and retain its best talents. France is no longer alone at the top, and the European average level is inexorably rising.

But beyond competition, Contensoux points to an unprecedented « combination of circumstances » this summer: « I’ve never experienced a summer where no youth team was made up of the players we had planned for during the year. » With three to four absences per selection, due to injuries or other reasons, the mix proved harmful. For the senior women’s team, Marine Fauthoux’s injury during preparation, combined with WNBA-related absences, weakened an already depleted squad.

The NCAA and WNBA challenge: preserving European identity

This is perhaps where Contensoux’s message takes on its full dimension. The NCAA, which he has monitored since his DTN candidacy fifteen years ago, has become an existential threat with the arrival of NIL (Name, Image, Likeness), the student-athlete compensation system. « For me, it’s a real danger for European basketball, » he states bluntly. « It would be a loss of European identity, which is a strong identity in world basketball. »

His argument is clear: « We need to have the Serbian school, we need to have the Spanish school, we need to have this French school, we need to have that difference. » A unique training ecosystem that NCAA standardization could jeopardize. Moreover, statistics in hand, Contensoux reminds us of a reality: « The best path to the NBA, for a first-round draft pick, is still through the French championship. » From Tony Parker to Zaccharie Risacher through Victor Wembanyama, Nicolas Batum or Evan Fournier, all grew up on French courts before conquering America.

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