By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
Speaking at the Football Business Forum at Bocconi University in Milan, NBA Europe and Middle East director Giorgos Aivazoglou presented the possible list of 12 European cities that will have permanent spots in the NBA Europe project.
As reported by Italian newspaper “Gazzetta dello Sport” Aivazoglou repeated that the launch of the new league can happen in October 2027: “We’re thinking to start, we’re working toward starting in October 2027.”
Speaking in Italy, he clarified that Milan and Rome can have teams in NBA Europe plus “London and Manchester for the United Kingdom, Paris and Lyon for France, Madrid and Barcelona for Spain, Berlin and Munich for Germany, plus one for Athens and for Istanbul”.
On the Italian front, he elaborated: “We think those teams, which would represent big European cities. Milan is home to some of the most famous brands in the world. There are two great football teams, there’s a great basketball team, Armani, so there’s no way we can. I cannot comment on ongoing discussions. We’re talking to some existing basketball teams. Then we’re talking to soccer teams that have a strong brand but don’t have a basketball team, conversations we’re having in this country and this city as well. And there are some places where we’ll start from scratch. We know there’s a large fan base in Rome; we can revitalize some historic teams or create a new one.”
Also, he added that the four extra spots will be given to the winner of the Basketball Champions League and three more from selected domestic leagues: “This is the most intriguing part because it allows everyone to have ambitions”.