By Aris Barkas / info@eurohoops.net
Alba Berlin is headed towards receiving a long-term license by EuroLeague following the path of Bayern Munich and ASVEL.
In a remote meeting held Tuesday (10/11), Euroleague Basketball Board Members held discussions on the future of the competition, including assigning once again two-year wild cards to ASVEL and Bayern Munich which can turn to be a long-term deal on June 2021 and beginning conversations with Alba Berlin for getting an associate wild card for two seasons.
The number of clubs with long term licenses rises to 14, leaving two annual wildcards for next season plus two spots for the 7DAYS EuroCup finalists.
On a related note, EuroLeague Chief Operations Officer Eduart Scott announced to the clubs his decision to step down from his position. According to Eurohoops sources, that’s a personal decision which was taken last summer.
Scott is expected to leave EuroLeague in December and his replacement will be announced soon. Scott was part of the EuroLeague organization in various positions since 2006.
The announcement of EuroLeague is as follows:
Euroleague Commercial Assets Executive Board members met remotely on Tuesday, November 10, to hold key discussions on the future.
Euroleague Basketball (EB) President & CEO Jordi Bertomeu opened the meeting by providing the clubs with information on the progress and upcoming steps of the strategic roadmap that was defined in December 2019, based on two different pillars:
– Increase penetration in strategic markets, namely France and Germany, where awareness, interest and business levels have shown significant growth in recent years, including assigning an associate wild card for two seasons (until June 2021) to LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne and FC Bayern Munich, respectively. The ECA Board will define the conditions for both clubs to be assigned with a long-term license by June 2021, increasing the total number of long-term licenses from 11 to 13.
– Increasing the stability of the League through increasing the number of long-term licensed clubs. The clubs analyzed the different alternatives, priorities, and criteria for the allocation of such licenses, including initiating conversations with ALBA Berlin regarding an associate wild card for two seasons.
The meeting continued with EB executives providing clubs with a top-line view on the work conducted in recent months together with Deloitte’s Sports Business Group, a five-year commercial strategy that sets the overarching objectives of the EuroLeague and its clubs for the future. Clubs were also presented with additional strategies on specific verticals such as brand, go-to-market and digital.
As part of the digital strategy, ECA Board members approved creating a company that will drive all current and future innovation projects inside the League, effective immediately.
Members also reviewed progress on improvement of the EB ecosystem, focusing on the latest work with the EuroLeague Players Association with a view to reaching a European Framework Agreement.