By Nikos Varlas/ varlas@eurohoops.net
Jordi Bertomeu is meeting today with the heads of the major domestic leagues in Europe, in order to inform them about the upcoming Euroleague changes and the new plan of the competition.
According to Eurohoops sources, the 16 teams format is gaining ground and the teams which will not be part of the competition after the reduction of Euroleague spots from 24, will have to settle for Eurocup that will became a much more competitive league from the get go. Τhis new formar translates to 30 games for each team and up to 37 for those playing in the play offs and the final four, so the calendar of the domestic leagues has to be worked around those extra games. This idea also sees the return of the pyramid structure, at least between Euroleague and Eurocup. The proposal of Euroleague is for one team to relegate to Eurocup every season according to its last three seasons results and the winner of Eurocup taking its place.
The Spanish and the Turkish league are not totally satisfied with this idea and they want two teams to relegate from Euroleague after every season and two from Eurocup, the finalists, taking their places. The Eurocup berths will be decided from the results of the domestic leagues and the only way to play in Euroleague, if you are not already a part of the competition, will be via the Eurocup.
UPDATE: The current state of the 12 A Licences will not change even under a 16 teams format. That means at this point there’s a grey zone for the 2 or 3 teams which will not get their Euroleague berths via the Eurocup. It’s one more question at this point if those spots will be awarded via wildcards, or via an other system, if the 16 teams formar prevails.