John Amaechi: British basketball governance must change

I have spoken to members of these various boards, on the basis of their anonymity, and they report the tenor of the meetings they attend, claiming that many of those present try to ensure they and the organisations they really represent “get theirs”.

Basketball in the UK needs a radical overhaul. Not fiddling round the edges, but a comprehensive review of the sport from top to bottom, followed by imposed change in process, policy and practice.

I should point out that I do not mean imposed by Sport England or UK Sport, but by experts in basketball.

This sounds frightening, I know, but if we are not to frustrate the next generation of potential basketball participants and sporting stars, we must decide that it is no longer good enough to be well-meaning and poorly skilled.

At every level in basketball, the sport is administered, governed and coached by people without any further qualifications in business, marketing, general or coach education, strategic planning, psychology, etc.

I spent two months at the beginning of this year speaking to all the principle figures that helped British Cycling emerge from obscurity. I even did a documentary about it.