Critical meeting for the future of the Euroleague

The next few days are particularly critical for her future Euroleagueas a meeting of the shareholders, i.e. the partner groups, is scheduled for Tuesday, where a number of important issues will be discussed and possibly historic decisions will be made.

On the agenda is discussion about Dubai’s entry into the Euroleague, with a very large sponsorship (it is said to be 150 million euros over six years) but with the conditions of the participation of a team from the Arab country in the event and the holding of a Final 4 from the next one there. Most teams are positive in this perspective, since the income will increase significantly, however there are several parameters that raise discussion, such as the movements and in any case the partners are not going to unconditionally accept the entry of Dubai into the Euroleague.

It has been on the table for a long time and the entry of teams from Paris or London into the Euroleague, which is looking for an opening in two of the largest markets in Europe. If this happens, which is most likely, it is taken for granted that the EuroLeague will see its teams increase, to at least 20 soon and later to 22 or even 24. In the first instance, however, any increase in teams or the entry of Dubai is not expected in the next season (2023/24), but it will go for 2024/25so as to better prepare the ground.

Of course it’s interesting to see any progress in Euroleague discussions with FIBA, since it is a given that if the groups increase, the program will be loaded even more. Some sources want the EuroLeague to have discussed (or… requested) from FIBA ​​him limiting “windows” in exchange for the players of the Euroleague teams to be available. At the same time there is also thinking of merging Eurocup and Basketball Champions League in a new, very competitive competition, which will also offer the prospect of entry into the Euroleague for winners or finalists. FIBA, however, does not show any inclination to completely abolish the “windows”, while it does not even discuss the possibility of moving events such as EuroBasket or the World Cup to June, in order to allow the EuroLeague to start earlier (from the end of September for example), as the participating groups increase.