By Vaggelis Papadimitriou / info@eurohoops.net
ABU DHABI – For another year, Eurohoops was among the media that had the opportunity to spend Friday morning in Abu Dhabi with EuroLeague CEO Paulius Motiejunas and discuss issues concerning the future of the competition, ahead of what looks to be a pivotal season.
And since we mentioned Abu Dhabi, it is worth emphasizing that theoretically the 2027 and 2029 Final Fours are in the ”package” with this year’s Final Four in the same city.
Nevertheless, the EuroLeague will make its assessment at the end of the season, receiving the necessary feedback from all involved organizations and also from public opinion, to evaluate the ”experiment” of bringing the event outside Europe positively or negatively. And this will largely determine whether there will be a future in the collaboration with the UAE.
The discussion began with the obvious, which concerns the upcoming season. It is a given and now known to everyone that the Euroleague is walking on new paths. The expansion of the teams is just a matter of time until it is formalized. When will this happen? Maybe as soon as next season, while the format will obviously not change as long as there are 18 teams. But even at 20 teams, if this is the number in the 2025-26 season, with extra double weeks, however, the league intends to continue to have a round robin format and not proceed with the proposed plan of two separate divisions.
As Motiejunas said in the official press conference of the Final Four on Saturday: “We believe we’re ready for 20 teams. We believe that we have enough strong candidates to grow to 20 teams. As management we really believe it’s time to take this step and of course the clubs will make the decision, but we have already shared the proposals and we will discuss in the near future. It’s either 18 or 20, but we believe we’re ready for 20”.
The teams included
Let’s now move on to the teams. The Euroleague has long since opened a channel of communication with many clubs. It is confirmed that there are discussions with Valencia, Virtus Bologna, Dubai, and Paris, while Hapoel Tel Aviv won the EuroCup and with it the right to participate in the next Euroleague. It seems, however, that the Israelis’ role will be more stable, as everything indicates that they are on course for a three-year license.
A small parenthesis here, regarding three-year licenses. The Euroleague does not want fireworks, as we have seen in the past, but steady clubs. The reasoning behind this is simple: teams need time to gain stability in all areas, on and off the court. Obviously, not all teams can have the immediate success of Paris this year. And since we mentioned Paris, there are, of course, ongoing discussions with them also.
The same applies to the Serbian teams (Partizan, Crvena Zvezda), who are expected to remain in the Euroleague with three-year licenses, while it remains to be seen what will happen with Virtus Bologna and Valencia. Keep the name of Dubai BC, which once more seems possible to begin its ”journey” to the Euroleague through the EuroCup. However, it seems to be a given that the UAE team will soon enter the European basketball map.
The last asterisk, regarding the teams of the Euroleague, is the situation in Israel and Russia, which will not change shortly. It is clear that CSKA remains in the Euroleague table, as a shareholder, but as long as the war with Ukraine continues, there is no chance of returning. If the situation changes, then this return may happen with a slight delay, since some time will be needed for the Moscow team to prepare competitively, financially, and commercially before re-entering the Euroleague. As for the teams from Israel, there is no possibility of returning to their base for next season, so all parties are working to find a solution, as was done in recent seasons with Maccabi playing in Belgrade.
It is worth mentioning that the Euroleague is targeting the English market and there are already advanced discussions with the London Lions, so that the team from the United Kingdom can enter the EuroCup, since “it is not easy for such a team to enter the Euroleague directly”.
The IMG, the no-deal with BC Partners, and the NBA
On the business side, the agreement with IMG is expected to help the Euroleague grow even more in the coming years, with Paulius Motejunas having the vision of “opening new doors and opportunities”. Adam Kelly, the president of IMG, was present at the meeting and explained how this partnership can take European basketball to the next level. After all, the goal is to increase the value of the Euroleague and not just a few more bucks in the coffers. This is the main goal when we are talking about the largest and most popular basketball league in Europe. Over the next ten years, the two sides will work together to increase revenue for all parties involved, especially the teams.
And this is exactly the ”juice” for the negotiations that have been ongoing all this time with BC Partners. The British fund submitted a proposal to acquire 30% of the Euroleague for 300 million euros. It was confirmed that the proposal is not on the table anymore, since the teams never voted on it, and BC Partners withdrew it.
Last, but not least in the Euroleague’s agenda is the “NBA Europe” issue.
Things are very simple at this point. The CEO of the Euroleague makes it clear that there is no room in European basketball for a new league.
Of course, it is worth noting here that the NBA is initially taking an exploratory ”walk” in the European market. The intention of the Euroleague, however, is to protect its product, what it has built so far, and the value it will capitalize on in the coming years. The ”threat” – if one can use this word – concerns the format that we may see in the coming years in NBA Europe. A league with perhaps 16 teams, with several of them having a fixed spot. If anything reminds you of this, then it is the format of the Euroleague, something that Moteyounas pointed out.