During his visit to Athens earlier in the day, Euroleague CEO Jordi Bertomeu has confirmed some key changes to Euroleague, starting next season.
Changes include the day of games, the number of games during the season and the number of teams in the qualifying phase.
Euroleague’s Top16 phase will be played with two groups, each consisting of eight clubs. Thus, each club will play eight extra games, fourteen instead of six before. A Final Four club could potentially play up to 31 games.
Second most significant change is the days during which Euroleague games will be played. Instead of current Wednesday and Thursday gamedays, Euroleague will keep Thursday and introduce Friday as the main gameday.
According to Bertomeu himself this decision was taken after a market research in nine different countries pointed out Friday as the most commercial day. (Editor’s note: Of course, not conflicting with Football Champions League games is also a major reason.)
The third major change is regarding the qualifying phase. Instead of two clubs, only one will make it to Euroleague regular season groups through the qualifying phase. The other spot will be turned into a B license wild card.
