By Ruairidh Barlow
Oct 2 (Reuters) – Euroleague shareholders will meet in Italy on Monday to discuss an expansion project, while talks with the NBA to become part of the 2027 NBA Europe league are also on the agenda.
Both the Euroleague and the NBA have said they will forge ahead with their own strategy for next season if no agreement is found.
The upcoming discussions in Cernobbio at Lake Como represent a fork in the road for the future of European basketball. Should a merger be agreed, it would represent a significant shift in governance, structure and the financing of Europe’s continental competition.
If no agreement is found, NBA Europe and the Euroleague are set to enter into a rivalry, with the latter intending to alter the existing format, expanding the competition in the process.
The Euroleague told Reuters on Friday it would make sense to work with the NBA, a sentiment expressed by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver on September 15 in a press conference.
Under plans being explored by the NBA and international governing body FIBA, the new competition would launch as a semi-open league consisting of 14-16 teams.
Of those, 10 to 12 franchises would hold permanent places, while four to six spots would be available annually through sporting merit. Reports in Europe say that the NBA have submitted a proposal to the Euroleague.
Teams would be able to qualify either via the FIBA Basketball Champions League or through an end-of-season qualifying tournament, creating a guaranteed pathway for clubs across Europe’s domestic competitions to reach the top tier.
Currently 13 of the Euroleague’s 20 members are permanent, with the league offering out wildcard contracts to other teams and typically two spots allocated based on sporting performance in the EuroCup.
REDUCING SCHEDULE CONFLICTS
One crucial change that NBA Europe proposes is that the league would fit alongside domestic championships and international windows organised by partners FIBA, reducing current scheduling conflicts for players.
Player pathways into the game and the transfer system are expected to remain unchanged.
In addition to a number of existing clubs becoming franchises, several new teams would be founded, with some of Europe’s major football clubs participating.
So far, no agreements have been reached, but a Qatar Sports Investments (QSI) spokesperson confirmed that QSI had been “positively involved in talks for many months” but declined to comment further. QSI own French football club Paris St Germain.
NBA Europe has identified potential locations for 12 anchor teams, targeting London, Paris, Rome, Milan, Berlin, Munich, Istanbul, Madrid, Athens, Barcelona, Manchester, and Lyon, The Athletic said.
Were the Euroleague to execute their expansion plan, it would see the current 20-team competition gain four teams next season. A maximum of eight ‘long-term’ franchises would join the existing 13, the rest filled out by temporary members.
The Euroleague told Reuters that 14 bids had been received for those eight spots amounting to more than €800 million ($901.36 million) in franchise fees.
Under the NBA Europe proposal, not all of the 13 permanent Euroleague teams would be guaranteed a spot. The NBA say they will award franchises and set entry fees on a case-by-case basis, but Silver said they had received several bids in the $500 million to $1 billion range.
($1 = 0.8875 euros)
(Reporting by Ruairidh Barlow in Madrid and Julien Pretot in ParisEditing by Christian Radnedge)
