By Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
While Olympiacos has not made an official move yet for entering the Adriatic League, things may change soon. However, becoming part of the ABA Liga will be quite complicated for the Reds and the current members of the league must accept the Greeks’ offer.
To be exact, while the Adriatic League in the past had Maccabi Tel Aviv as a member for one season, rules have changed since them. As the ABA Liga director Kresimir Novosel said to Croatian portal “Index”: “Olympiacos didn’t contact us yet, I think that’s just a story caused by their dissatisfaction with events at the Greek Cup semifinals. Moreover, the ABA Liga statute says that only clubs from the six countries of former Yugoslavia can be members of the league. Yes, Maccabi and clubs from other countries have been members of the league in the past, but the statute has changed since then. We would have to hold a meeting with all clubs to vote the expansion of the league. And even if all that happened, the chances for them to join for next season are none”.
However, things can change if Olympiacos officially express any kind of interest. The benefits for the inclusion of a club like Olympiacos are obvious for the league, the Reds are guaranteed a spot in the EuroLeague, so Adriatic League will automatically have two teams in the top European competitions and the general value of their basketball product will rise.
On the other hand, in order for the league to agree, there should be at least guarantees for Olympiacos’ long-term presence in the Adriatic League. In any case, it’s a complicated matter that Olympiacos and the Adriatic League will have to address if there’s really a mutual interest for collaboration. It’s not impossible, but it will need a lot of work and negotiations in order to become a reality.