Minister warns AS Monaco basket must rebuild its financial model
By Zak Jackson, MonacoViews Editorial
Three-time French champions Roca Team face serious financial difficulty, with the government having lent funds to complete the season while pressing for structural reform.
Winning a third French championship title on the court has not resolved the financial pressures bearing down on AS Monaco's basketball club. Minister of State Christophe Mirmand has spoken publicly about the situation, making clear that the government stepped in with a loan to allow the club to finish the 2025-26 season, but that this support was not a signal of ongoing state rescue.
Mirmand was direct in his assessment: the Principality is not in the business of managing sports clubs. The loan was a short-term measure to protect the season, not a commitment to absorb recurring deficits. His message was that the Roca Team's ownership and leadership must now build a sustainable model, covering revenues, costs and governance, capable of supporting a club competing at the top of French basketball.
The situation presents a difficult tension for the Principality. The Roca Team has become a genuine point of civic pride, drawing consistent crowds to the Salle Gaston Médecin and competing in the EuroLeague against the continent's best-funded clubs. That level of competition carries significant costs, and the gap between ambition and commercial income is at the heart of the current difficulty.
How the club's owners respond this summer will determine whether the Roca Team can defend its title in 2026-27 without further recourse to public funds. Mirmand's remarks suggest the government's patience, while not exhausted, comes with clear conditions attached.