Eduardo Portela Marín (30 August 1934Former ACB president Eduardo Portela dies at 91Fallece Eduardo Portela, el hombre de la acb – 11 June 2026) was a Spanish basketball player, coach, and executive. He was the head of the ACB, the governing body of the top-tier level Spanish professional club basketball league, and the head of ULEB, the Union of European Leagues of Basketball.
Biography Portela coached UE Montgat, FC Barcelona, and CP Sant Josep. He later served as technical director of FC Barcelona for nine seasons (1971–72 to 1980–81), during which he occasionally stepped in as head coach and led the club to the Copa del Rey title in 1979.
Along with Jose Antonio Gasca, he founded the ACB. The ACB has since organized Spain's top-tier professional club basketball league, the Liga ACB, since the 1983–84 season. He became the ACB's President in 1990. He served as the President of the ACB from 1990 to 2011, and also as its honorary president.
In 1991, he was also one of the founders of ULEB, the Union of European Leagues of Basketball, along with Gianluigi Porelli. In 1998, he became the President of the Union, a position he held until 2016, when he became the Honorary President.Tomas Van Den Spiegel is the new president of ULEB.
Portela died on 11 June 2026, aged 91.
Honours Coach Barcelona Copa del Rey: 1979
Individual Gold Medal of the Royal Order of Sports Merit, awarded by the Higher Sports Council (2009)
References
External links Euroleague.net interview: Eduardo Portela, ULEB president at Euroleague.net