More problems in Euroleague: Clubs without a fixed position join forces to join forces

Or if the landscape of European club basketball wasn’t already disrupted enough by the NBA’s project to create a new competition in cooperation with FIBA, Basketball News revealed yesterday that the majority of teams without a permanent place in the EuroLeague are forging a common front to protect their interests. According to this information, the group will also include teams outside of the EuroLeague but wishing to join, such as Dubai Basketball, Red Star, Partizan, AS Monaco, Hapoel Tel Aviv, Virtus Bologna, Valencia Basket, and even Israel’s Hapoel Jerusalem. It is said that Turkey’s Besiktas, Greece’s PAOK Thessaloniki and Italy’s Napoli may also join this group in the future.

The targets are currently Real Madrid, Barça, Baskonia, Olympiakos, Panathinaikos, Fenerbahce, Anadolu Efes, Zalgiris Kaunas, Armani Milan, Bayern Munich, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Asbel Villeurbanne and CSKA Moscow, although their participation in the sport has been suspended due to the war in Ukraine. They want greater decision-making power and also a larger share in the distribution of the profits generated by competition.

One of the ultimate goals is to get more clubs to become shareholders in EuroLeague, which is seen as essential to combating the existential threat posed by competition from the NBA. According to Basket News, these “B clubs” are willing to make financial offers to EuroLeague to change the status quo.

The only club without a fixed license is excluded from this common front. Paris Basketball hopes to eventually take over as shareholder of Asbel Villeurbanne, another French team with financial problems, and appears to have its future set on the Basketball Champions League.

The creation of this internal faction could be a destabilizing factor at a critical time for EuroLeague. This is because, if their demands are not met, teams from this group may abandon competition or even decide to create a new league.

And during this time, Barça, Real Madrid, Fenerbahce and Asbel have still not signed new 15-year licenses while waiting for details of the project that the NBA plans to implement in Europe in 2027.