The quotes from the presentation of the collaboration with bwin

The official presentation of the collaboration between Olympiacos BC and bwin took place at the "Grand Hyatt Athens" Monday afternoon (10/09, 14.00) with the presence of the Presidents Giorgos and Panagiotis Angelopoulos.

In the aftermath of the event the three new jerseys of the team were also presented and they are available for sale at all the Official Olympiacos BC Store spots.

Here are the main quotes:

Panagiotis Angelopoulos (President of Olympiacos Bc): "We are here today to announce our collaboration with GVC Group, one of the largest betting companies in the world, and the promotion of the BWIN brand on the Olympiacos jersey for the next 5 years. We would like to welcome the company and its representatives within the Olympiacos family and wish that together we are successful, as we have been during the last decade.

As you all know, Olympiacos BC is at the time on of the top sporting organizations in Europe and the Olympiacos brand is one of the most powerful ones. We feel satisfied that such a huge corporate enterprise, public in the London stock market, has chosen Olympiacos for their first collaboration with a basketball team and we hope to contribute towards the success of their goals inside and outside of Greece and of course that bwin helps us achieve our goals.
Olympiacos is the greatest European team during the last ten years and a very powerful and effective promotional platform for the largest corporations on a global scale. On the other hand, our team philosophy, its values and its principles, are deeply appreciated and that's why all sponsors and associates remain with us long-term".

Giorgos Angelopoulos (President of Olympiacos BC): "I wish a good season for all. I welcome bwin into the Olympiacos family. It may well be the most important sponsoring collaboration in the basketball chronicles. Maybe even in the chronicles of Greek Sports, if the duration of the agreement is taken into account. We are very happy and proud about that and we hope to have very good moments for both sides. However, apart from the collaboration with bwin, the aspect of social responsibility is very important to us, especially during these tough times. That's why we have the President of the "Together for the Kid" Foundation, Ms. Martinou, here with us and later on you will be getting more information on this new collaboration. What we would like to point out is that Olympiacos is a strong advocate for social responsibility and we do all we can to help our fellow humans. We sincerely thank her for being here with us".

Gary Nall (Head of Western Europe for GVC): "I would like to thank Mr. Panagiotis and Mr. Giorgos Angelopoulos for their warm welcome. I'm also very happy to have met Ms. Martinou, the coach and all the players. GVC is very happy for the long-term collaboration with a team like Olympiacos. We share the same values, fair play and we compete at the highest level on the sporting arenas. That's why our collaboration with such a historic club was only natural. We are aware of the long and important Olympiacos history, its achievements and its passionate fans. Bwin is proud to be working with the largest sporting brands. We are passionate about basketball, we sponsor Euroleague in Greece and in Spain, we work with football clubs like Borussia Dortmund, Valencia, Atletico Madrid and Inter. Our collaboration with Olympiacos will last for at least five years and this displays the strategy of two sides that will be working together and will be celebrating every achievement hand in hand".

Ιoannis Kapodistrias (Heading bwin in Greece): "I sincerely wish to thank the Presidents Panagiotis and Giorgos Angelopoulos and the general director of Olympiacos BC, Mr. Christos Stavropoulos, for the faith they've shown in this collaboration. I would also like to thank the execs that have worked consistently and with a vision into completing the deal on this great sponsoring collaboration, Mr. Nikos Lepeniotis on behalf of Olympiacos BC and Ms. Ioanna Beriou from our team, director of corporate communications for bwin. We had been talking for a long time and although the financial terms of such a deal is always important, I can assure you that we have dedicated minimum time discussing the sponsorship pricing. What really occupied our talks was how we would be able to work together, so as to maximize activities to the benefit of both parties, that is to create the circumstances necessary so that our collaboration would be leading to even higher goals. You will be witnessing the results of our work and programming deploy throughout our sponsorship collaboration. One area that Olympiacos, as well as bwin, is very sensitive to both is that of corporate responsibility and will be developing a series of actions in that regard. Our company has a continuous cooperation with the Foundation "Together for the Kid", which we have carefully chosen and stand by them in the important work they've been doing, since the volunteers solely depending on private sponsorships and donations support with hard work and selflessness 35 to 40 thousand kids that need their help each year. In the framework of joined events for the Foundation, we have decided together with Olympiacos BC to promote the brand "Together for the Kid" during the team's road games in countries where bwin does not operate. We hope that this way we are going to further promote the work of the foundation and make fans sensitive to its cause. I have the honor to have the President of the foundation by my side, Ms. Alexandra Martinou and after expressing my unending respect and appreciation of her work, I would ask her to talk to us".

Alexandra Martinou (President of the «Together for the kid» foundation): "I would like to thank the Presidents of Olympiacos BC, bwin, Mr. Kapodistrias and Ms. Beriou for being on our side for many years now. Kids that have to tackle poverty, illness, abuse, being handicapped. Apart from all the organizations under the umbrella of the foundation, we have our own programs, like food dispensing, a hotline with associate psychologists and advisors, programs on keeping kids in school and many many more. We are very happy with the potential of this collaboration. We have been very careful during all these years since our collaboration began and this is going to be a new platform to make our work better known. Because we need all the help we can get and now our work will become known to the sporting audience and I should think therefore to much younger ages".

On the team budget and if the same philosophy of the last seven years is going to be upheld or due to renewed roster and the hiring of Mr. Blatt will force an increase. Giorgos Angelopoulos: "The season has started and there is nothing to be done. Decisions have been made, there is no increase, maybe we have somewhat decreased it. We are about the same. As you well know, Olympiacos has had a leading role during the past ten years with the smallest budget in comparison to his European competitors. This is a huge achievement. Using the available funds, Olympiacos remains at the top in Europe without having the biggest budget. The team has a smaller budget than any other team of the final four".

Panagiotis Angleopoulos: «The planning has been completed. Thanks to a very low profile we don't have 'imaginary' numbers circulating as it has happened previously. In reality, the budget is slightly lower».

Gary Nall on why bwin chose Olympiacos among any other Eurolegue team: «We have had limited exposure in the Greek market and Olympiacos is a strong brand plus we are a good fit. Mr.Kapodistrias was the one to make the big decision and we supported him».