EuroLeague says NBA competition would "threaten European basketball traditions"
The EuroLeague sees the NBA's attempt to create a new European basketball league as a "threat to the time-honoured traditions of European basketball". The EuroLeague made the announcement in a press release on Tuesday.
The American National Basketball Association (NBA), the world's biggest basketball competition, is exploring the creation of a European equivalent in conjunction with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA).
According to various media outlets, the NBA is looking to partner with major European football clubs for its competition. PSG, Manchester City, Arsenal, Real Madrid and Fenerbahçe have already been approached by the NBA, according to the reports.
Some of these clubs have never run a basketball club before, but they all have huge fan bases. This means that the NBA could become a major rival to the EuroLeague, currently the second best club competition in the world.
Following a meeting with its board of directors, the EuroLeague said on social media that it sees the NBA Europe as "a threat to the long-standing traditions of European basketball". The competition risks "fragmentation and confusion within the sport", the statement said.
Basketball's Super League
The EuroLeague itself is basketball's equivalent of football's Super League: a private competition created by major basketball clubs in 2000 after a financial dispute with FIBA.
While the EuroLeague's audience continues to grow, "all its clubs are losing money," Philippe Ausseur, president of the French National Basketball League, told France24. The league is struggling to find sponsors and major TV rights. The NBA, meanwhile, estimates that it could generate 3 billion euros a year in the long term by expanding into Europe and the Middle East.
What the clubs will choose to do, remains to be seen. Seven of the EuroLeague's 13 clubs have pledged to stay, writes BasketNews. But Real Madrid and Barcelona, two of the clubs with the biggest fan bases, have not yet made up their minds. They have to decide before June 2026, when their contracts expire.
PHOTO © ANGELA WEISS / AFP
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