Euroleague Basketball, through its parent Union of European Basketball Leagues (ULEB), has signed a historic agreement with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA).

Euroleague was founded in 2000, when the top European professional clubs broke away from FIBA to form their own pan-European competition. The agreement, for the first time, acknowledges ULEB as the exclusive organizer of the top professional competitions in Europe – both the 24-team Euroleague and the second competition, the 24-team ULEB Cup. In addition, the agreement guarantees that national team competitions under the auspicious of FIBA, such as the World Championships, will be completed no later than September 4 of each year, eliminating the possibility of scheduling conflicts.

The new agreement is expected to lead to a new business model for Euroleague, whereby the league will be able to prioritize its commercial agenda as well as eliminate any confusion as to which body will organize Europe’s professional club competitions.

‘The agreement guarantees us the necessary commercial control, allowing us to feature the very best clubs and markets in Europe,’ said Euroleague CEO Jordi Bertomeu. ‘Any confusion has now been eliminated, which strengthens Euroleague’s position relative to television rights, sponsorships and licensing.’

Euroleague consultant Marshall Glickman added, ‘The lack of a formal relationship with FIBA has certainly been a cloud that needed to be removed. Now that the politics have been put aside, we have the freedom to remodel Euroleague as a proper business. Given that basketball is the second most popular team sport in Europe, with special appeal to young people, this is very good news – we can now focus our efforts on developing Euroleague as a pan-European marketing platform that will appeal to companies interested in reaching our highly-desirable consumer demographics.’

‘We expect to make several major announcements in the next year regarding our commercial direction,’ added Bertomeu. ‘The potential of professional basketball in Europe is very, very strong. Now, we can focus our efforts to reaching out to new markets with community programs, consumer promotions, world-class events and a variety of innovations.’

Contacts:

Jordi Bertomeau
jordi.bertomeu@euroleague.net
+34 93 3278 427

Marshall Glickman
marshall@g2strategic.net
+1 781-772-1932