Euroleague Assembly approved structural changes
07.07.2008
The Euroleague Assembly with CSKA CEO Andrei Vatutin and Sports Director Natalia Furaeva in attendance has approved several strategic decisions of competition development.
The Euroleague Assembly with CSKA CEO Andrei Vatutin and Sports Director Natalia Furaeva in attendance has approved several strategic decisions of competition development.
After more than three ours of discussions the Assembly approved the new structure of Euroleague. From the beginning of 2008/09 season 24 teams participating in the tournament will be divided into four groups in the first phase. Following regular championship the best four in each group will go to the Top-16. After that the only thing different from the old system would be the best-of-five series in quarterfinals.
The proposed changes include a new licensing system for participation in the Euroleague, which will have three categories and will be applied starting with the 2009-10 season.
The first category, called License A, features long-term licenses with no fixed-year limits for a maximum of 16 clubs. The criteria for such licenses will be based on results in Euroleague Basketball competitions, television revenue and arena attendance. Only teams that have played at least four Euroleague Basketball seasons since 2000 will be eligible for those licenses when they are first applied in 2009. A maximum of three teams per country would hold such licenses. There will be a possibility for Euroleague Basketball to grant two licenses as wild cards. Licenses will be lost when a team fails to participate in its domestic league's first division or when it finishes last in a three-season ranking of its results in the Euroleague The three-season ranking will first come into effect before the 2012-13 season, but each year thereafter, one team will lose its License A and a new team will take its place.
The second category, License B, is another long-term license granted to a minimum of seven national leagues based on a ranking of that country's results in Euroleague Basketball competitions and an assessment of the market's potential for economic revenues. Licenses may be lost when a country finishes last in a three-season ranking of its results in the Euroleague.
The third category, License C, is a single license granted to the second competition organized by ULEB each season.
Andrei Vatutin, CEO CSKA:
- Probably today was one of the most important meetings of the Assembly in recent years. The discussions were incredibly hot, and final, compromise solution could not satisfy everybody. We are sure that the decision will add stability and evolution to European basketball. It will give new prospects, strengthen internal competition, and at the same time will help to protect the tournament from stiff competition with other leagues for viewers, television and marketing rights, sales of branded products. The new system allows the best clubs on the continent to become less dependent on national leagues and shifts the balance of power in the Euroleague. Maybe the decision left perhaps more questions than answers, but it helps to timely determine the strategic direction when delay can become very costly.
After more than three ours of discussions the Assembly approved the new structure of Euroleague. From the beginning of 2008/09 season 24 teams participating in the tournament will be divided into four groups in the first phase. Following regular championship the best four in each group will go to the Top-16. After that the only thing different from the old system would be the best-of-five series in quarterfinals.
The proposed changes include a new licensing system for participation in the Euroleague, which will have three categories and will be applied starting with the 2009-10 season.
The first category, called License A, features long-term licenses with no fixed-year limits for a maximum of 16 clubs. The criteria for such licenses will be based on results in Euroleague Basketball competitions, television revenue and arena attendance. Only teams that have played at least four Euroleague Basketball seasons since 2000 will be eligible for those licenses when they are first applied in 2009. A maximum of three teams per country would hold such licenses. There will be a possibility for Euroleague Basketball to grant two licenses as wild cards. Licenses will be lost when a team fails to participate in its domestic league's first division or when it finishes last in a three-season ranking of its results in the Euroleague The three-season ranking will first come into effect before the 2012-13 season, but each year thereafter, one team will lose its License A and a new team will take its place.
The second category, License B, is another long-term license granted to a minimum of seven national leagues based on a ranking of that country's results in Euroleague Basketball competitions and an assessment of the market's potential for economic revenues. Licenses may be lost when a country finishes last in a three-season ranking of its results in the Euroleague.
The third category, License C, is a single license granted to the second competition organized by ULEB each season.
Andrei Vatutin, CEO CSKA:
- Probably today was one of the most important meetings of the Assembly in recent years. The discussions were incredibly hot, and final, compromise solution could not satisfy everybody. We are sure that the decision will add stability and evolution to European basketball. It will give new prospects, strengthen internal competition, and at the same time will help to protect the tournament from stiff competition with other leagues for viewers, television and marketing rights, sales of branded products. The new system allows the best clubs on the continent to become less dependent on national leagues and shifts the balance of power in the Euroleague. Maybe the decision left perhaps more questions than answers, but it helps to timely determine the strategic direction when delay can become very costly.
