Βy Aris Barkas/ barkas@eurohoops.net
The decision of Turkish Airlines Euroleague to cut eight teams for the new 16-club format created an obvious issue. Less clubs means in general games of higher level, but some key basketball territories are left out.
However, Euroleague CEO Jordi Bertomeu himself already talked twice, last week in Israel and today in Italian newspaper “Gazzetta Dello Sport”, talked about the future expansion and a return to 24 teams.
This is an issue that Euroleague has to face sooner than later, considering the fact that some of the missing territories are also not present in the Eurocup, due to the ongoing conflict with FIBA. And with Euroleague becoming a “real league” this season, it’s obvious that the more countries are represented, the more interest will be attracted.
An 18 clubs league
Expansion is not that easy and in order to happen, the new clubs should worth it. That means being competitive and ideally represent big markets that are currently missing. The idea of a UK team, or a Paris-based club is old news but still remain, at least in theory, a target.
On the other hand, more teams in the league can also mean more spots for grabs from Eurocup, a move than can help the competition grow and overcome the competition of FIBA Champions League. It’s not a secret that the plans of Euroleague and IMG have in the cards the idea of expansion and it seems that the pressure by FIBA may set things in motion earlier than anticipated.
According to Eurohoops sources there are already talks on the matter and that was one of the main motives during the summer for clubs in order to compete to Eurocup. While there’s no set timetable about when this will happen, there are scenarios about 20 and 18 teams on the table. The 20 teams format was also proposed by the Russian teams, which are currently competing in Eurocup. As one can can easy understand the 18-team format is the easiest next step and the extra games can be accomodated in the schedule if there are eight weeks, compared to currently five, with two regular season games included.
Of course in this case, the inclusion of national teams qualification windows in the Euroleague shedule will end up being even more complicated and that brings us to the next issue.
The – non- option of the closed league
While there are still big clubs which are pushing towards the idea of a totally closed league, Euroleague insists that there should be room for growth and that can be achieved via the Eurocup. That’s why Euroleague will try to preserve it and protect it. The best way to do that is to keep the Eurocup connected to Euroleague and use it as the entrance to the big show.
A totally closed Euroleague may also mean the end of Eurocup. That scenario at the moment is off the table and it’s more than doubtful that it will be a real option for Euroleague. Only if conditions outside Euroleague’s control dictate it – and those are FIBA’s moves – it may be the last resort.