By Eurohoops team / info@eurohoops.net
Following the format originally approved at the Euroleague Commercial Assets Shareholders Meeting on 29 April 2016 and subsequently ratified in the Domestic Leagues Meeting held on 20 December 2016, the 2017-18 7DAYS EuroCup will see 24 teams playing in four regular season groups, with 16 teams advancing to the Top 16 phase, featuring four groups of four teams each. Eight teams will qualify for best-of-three quarterfinals, which will be followed by best-of-three semifinals and best-of-three finals.
The access criteria includes three teams each coming from the Adriatic League, Russian Federation and Spain. France, Germany, Italy and Turkey have spots for two teams each, whilst Greece, Israel, Lithuania and Poland have one spot each. The remaining three teams will come from wild card invitations. The access for each country is based on the final domestic league standings after the playoffs, after the spots in the 2017-18 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague have been filled. Should a vacancy exist in the EuroCup for any reason, the spot will become a wild card, as stated in the Bylaws.
The 2017-18 EuroCup will mark a major step in amplifying the footprint of the competition’s broadcasts as well as boosting the revenues generated for clubs. Euroleague Basketball and IMG agreed an improved commercial structure and defined a new revenue distribution model similar to the EuroLeague’s centralised structure, which will positively impact the participating clubs with a guaranteed increase in the sports pool, as well as a new market pool distribution based on the TV contracts signed in each territory. The new media structure also includes a significant investment in production to improve the overall content offering. As a result, fans will be able to enjoy better quality broadcasts and a wider range of content on digital platforms, including additional highlights and the ability to watch live games on Euroleague.tv.
Euroleague Basketball will continue to cover the officiating expenses for every game.
The 7DAYS EuroCup will be the European basketball club competition with the second highest average economic distribution per club, behind only the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague.
Euroleague Basketball wishes to reiterate its hopes that all clubs can exercise their freedom to register in the competition in which they want to participate without any kind of pressure or threat of sanction, as unfortunately was the case last season.