Euroleague will soon be revealing the 16 teams that will participate in the first edition of newly-formatted competition.
The 11 clubs with A Licences; Anadolu Efes, Fenerbahce, CSKA Moscow, EA7 Milano, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Laboral Kutxa, Maccabi FOX Tel Aviv, Olympiacos, Panathinaikos and Zalgiris already have a place in the Euroleague valid for the next 10 years.
The Eurocup and VTB League champions will play in Euroleague and are also attempting to lure the BEKO BBL and ABA Liga holders as well.
BEKO BBL manager Stefan Holz signed the agreement with FIBA but the German top teams countered Holz’s move by wanting an opportunity to play in the new Euroleague instead of FIBA Basketball Champions League.
The last spot in the newly-formatted Euroleague will be the wild card slot, which is being earmarked to a Liga Endesa side, according to L’Equipe (via Gigantes).
This would mean that the Liga Endesa’s stranglehold on Euroleague Basketball, whose headquarters are in Barcelona will tighten even further as they will have four teams out of the 16 competing in the competition.
Unfortunately, while Spain will have four sides, a country with a rich tradition in the Euroleague, France will be snubbed as they won’t have any team in the new new season, which starts in the 2017-18 season.
