Basketball Champions League
| File:Basketball Champions League logo.svg | |
| Organising body | FIBA Europe |
|---|---|
| Founded | 21 March 2016 |
| First season | 2016–17 |
| Region | Europe |
| Number of teams | 32 (regular season) 56 (total) |
| Level on pyramid | 1 (overall: 3) |
| International cup | FIBA Intercontinental Cup |
| Related competitions | FIBA Europe Cup |
| Current champions |  Unicaja Malaga (2nd title) (2024–25) |
| Most championships | Canarias San Pablo Burgos Unicaja Malaga (2 titles each) |
| TV partners | courtside1891.basketball |
| Website | championsleague.basketball |
| File:Basketball current event.svg 2025–26 Basketball Champions League | |
The Basketball Champions League (BCL), also commonly known as the FIBA Champions League, is an annual professional basketball competition for European clubs, organised by FIBA. It is the top-level competition organised by FIBA Europe, therefore the champion participates in the FIBA Intercontinental Cup, but it is usually considered the 3rd-tier Pan-European competition overall.
Clubs qualify for the competition mostly based on performance in their national leagues and cup competitions. Although exceptional, some teams can be wildcarded.[1][2]
Each season consists of 32 teams. The inaugural season was held in 2016–17 and since then five different clubs won the competition. Canarias, San Pablo Burgos and Malaga hold the joint record of most BCL titles with two each.
Creation and adoption
In October 2015, FIBA attempted to take back control of Europe's top-tier club competition,[3][4] by proposing a new competition, featuring 16 teams playing in a round-robin format, and granting eight guaranteed spots to 8 clubs (Panathinaikos, Olympiakos, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Maccabi Tel Aviv, CSKA Moscow, Fenerbahce and Efes Pilsen). The top European clubs decided to remain in the Euroleague Basketball and adopt the same round-robin format in their own competition with 11 permanent out of 16 spots.[5] FIBA then announced the launch of a new European basketball club competition,[6] with qualification based only on sporting merit.[7]
In April 2023, the league established the Youth Basketball Champions League (YBCL) for under-18 teams of selected BCL teams.[8]
Format
Tournament
The tournament proper begins with a regular season of 32 teams, divided into four groups. Seeding is used in the draw for this stage, and teams from the same country may not be drawn into groups together. Each team meets the others in its group in home and away games, in a round-robin format. The top four teams from each group then progress to the play-offs. The fifth and sixth-placed teams can choose to enter the FIBA Europe Cup playoffs in the same season.[9]
The regular season is played from October to January, and the playoffs start in February. In the round of 16 and quarter-finals, ties are played in a 'home and away' format, based on aggregate scores. For the round of 16, the winning team from one group plays against the fourth-placed team from another group and the runner-up from one group plays against the third-placed team from another group. For the quarter-finals, the winners of games between the group winners and fourth-placed teams play against the winners from the runners-up and third-placed teams. The Final Four is typically held in the final week of April or the first week of May.[9]
Arena rules
Currently, the minimum seating capacity for home arenas of the clubs that compete in the Basketball Champions League (BCL) is 3,000 seats. However, the Basketball Champions League organizing body has the authority to grant clubs with smaller arenas a waiver of the rule.[10]
Prizes
Trophy
Each year, the winning team is presented with the Basketball Champions League Trophy. The current trophy is 65 cm (26 in) tall and made of sterling silver with 24ct gold plated highlights, weighing 8 kg (18 lb). It was designed by Radiant Studios and crafted by Thomas Lyte. A basketball net forms the focus of the trophy, and the design creates the effect of a crown.[11]
Prize money
From 2016–17 to 2017–18, FIBA reduced the prize money from €5,200,000 to €3,500,000, but doubled the prize for the winner from €500,000 to €1,000,000.[12][9] As of 2017–18, FIBA awards a base fee of €50,000 for reaching the regular season. In addition, FIBA pays teams reaching the round of 16 €20,000, each quarter-finalist €30,000, €40,000 for the fourth-placed team, €100,000 for the third-placed team, €300,000 for the runners-up, and €900,000 for the winners.[9]
- Base fee for the regular season: €50,000
- Round of 16: €70,000
- Quarter-finals: €100,000
- 4th placed team: €140,000
- 3rd placed team: €200,000
- Losing finalist: €400,000
- Winning the Final: €1,000,000
Results
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Performances by club
A total of 98 clubs from 28 national associations have played in or qualified for the Champions League group stage. {{#lst:Basketball Champions League records and statistics|Winners}}
Medals (2016–present)
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spain | 6 | 3 | 4 | 13 |
| 2 |  Greece | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
| 3 | Error creating thumbnail: Germany | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 4 |  Italy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 5 |  Turkey | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 6 |  France | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 7 |  Israel | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 8 | Error creating thumbnail: Belgium | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (8 entries) | 9 | 9 | 9 | 27 | |
Broadcasting rights
| Country/Region | Broadcaster | Free/Pay | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| International | YouTube (unsold markets only) | Free | |
| LiveBasketball.TV | Pay | ||
| ESPN3 | Pay | [13] | |
| Balkans | Arena Sport | Pay | |
| Alternativna TV | Free | [14] | |
| File:Flag of Austria.svg Austria | DAZN | Pay | [15][16] |
| Spain[a]
| |||
 Switzerland
| |||
| Error creating thumbnail: Germany | DYN | Pay | [17] |
 Estonia
|
TV3 Group | Free & Pay | [18] |
| France
|
Canal+, LNB.TV | Pay | [19][20] |
| Greece
|
Cosmote TV | Pay | |
 Hungary
|
M4 Sport | Free | |
| Israel
|
Sports Channel | Free & Pay | |
| Italy
|
Eurosport | Pay | [21] |
| File:Flag of Latvia.svg Latvia | TV3 Group | Free & Pay | [22] |
| File:Flag of Lithuania.svg Lithuania | TV3 Group | Free & Pay | |
| File:Flag of Poland.svg Poland | Canal+ Premium | Pay | [23] |
| File:Flag of Romania.svg Romania | Look Sport | Free | |
| Turkey
|
Tivibu Spor | Free & Pay | [24] |
| File:Flag of Vietnam.svg Vietnam | VTVCab |
- ^ Only games of Spanish teams.
Awards
Winning rosters
Youth competition
In January 2023, the BCL launched its under-18 competition named the Youth Basketball Champions League (YBCL).[25] The inaugural season will be hosted in the Turkish city of Bursa and features 10 teams that play in a league format for the championship. The winners of the inaugural season were Igokea.
References
- ^ "Champions League - Wild Card 2018-19 in arrivo per la Segafredo Bologna" (in italiano). Pianeta Basket. 6 March 2018.
- ^ "Bamberg schenkt Euroleague ab" (in Deutsch). 18 June 2018.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "FIBA to welcome top European clubs for talks on new competition". FIBA. 27 October 2015. Archived from the original on October 28, 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
- ^ "FIBA offers innovative partnership to top European clubs". FIBA. 3 November 2015. Archived from [hnddnttp://www.fiba.com/pr-68-fiba-offers-innovative-partnership-to-top-european-clubs the original] on 24 June 2017. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
- ^ "Euroleague Basketball A-licence clubs and IMG agree on 10-year joint venture". Euroleague Basketball. 10 November 2015. Archived from the original on 21 March 2016. Retrieved 12 November 2015.
- ^ "FIBA confirms launch of Basketball Champions League for 2016-17 season". BasketballCL.com. 26 November 2015. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
- ^ "Basketball Champions League Working Groups make significant headway". BasketballCL.com. 28 January 2016. Archived from the original on 21 March 2016. Retrieved 21 March 2016.
- ^ "BCL launches the brand new Youth Basketball Champions League". Eurohoops. 2023-01-16. Retrieved 2024-04-05.
- ^ a b c d "Basketball Champions League regulations" (PDF). BasketballCL.com. 3 May 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 June 2017. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
- ^ Basketball Champions League Competition Regulations Page 6 of 49. Archived 12 June 2018 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Details for the BCL trophy".
- ^ "Basketball Champions League regulations" (PDF). BasketballCL.com. 16 September 2016. Archived (PDF) from the original on 10 October 2016. Retrieved 7 October 2016.
- ^ "FIBA Basketball Champions League". espn.com. Retrieved 2023-12-08.
- ^ Only in Bosnia for Igokea matches.
- ^ "DAZN to remain home of Basketball Champions League in Germany | News | Sportcal". www.sportcal.com. Retrieved 2019-11-14.
- ^ "DAZN scores Basketball Champions League rights in Spain ahead of season tip-off". Digital TV Europe. 11 October 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
- ^ "Basketball Champions League künftig bei Dyn zuhause". Retrieved 14 June 2024.
- ^ "TV3 Sport live broadcasts, November 10 2021". TV3 Sport. 2021-11-10. Retrieved 2022-01-20.
- ^ "Basketball Champions League and Canal+ sign a major broadcasting deal". BasketballCL.com. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
- ^ "Basketball Champions League gives fans free content with LNB TV". Insider Sport. Retrieved 20 January 2022.
- ^ "Guida tv della settimana: tutto il basket in diretta su Eurosport 2 ed Eurosport Player". Eurosport. 2019-11-10. Retrieved 2019-11-14.
- ^ "TV3 Sport". TV3 Sport. 2022-01-20. Retrieved 2022-01-20.
- ^ "Basketball Champions League w Canal+". Sat Kurier (in polski). 2020-11-03. Retrieved 2022-01-20.
- ^ "Basketbol Şampiyonlar Ligi Tivibu Spor'da". Türk Telekom Medya Merkezi (in Türkçe). 2020-09-21. Retrieved 2021-05-09.
- ^ "New year, new horizons as BCL launches forward-looking Youth Basketball Champions League". FIBA.basketball. 2023-01-16. Retrieved 2023-01-18.
Sources
See also
Men's competitions
Women's competitions
External links
- CS1 italiano-language sources (it)
- CS1 Deutsch-language sources (de)
- All articles with dead external links
- Articles with dead external links from September 2023
- Articles with permanently dead external links
- Webarchive template wayback links
- CS1 polski-language sources (pl)
- CS1 Türkçe-language sources (tr)
- Articles with missing files
- Pages using infobox basketball league with province, state, or region
- Official website not in Wikidata
- Portal templates with redlinked portals
- Pages with empty portal template
- Portal-inline template with redlinked portals
- Basketball Champions League
- Men's continental basketball competitions in Europe
- Sports leagues established in 2016
- 2016 establishments in Europe
- FIBA Europe club competitions
- Multi-national basketball leagues in Europe