FIBA announced that 10 European domestic leagues and the Union of European Basketball Leagues (ULEB) officially signed up to be part of its Basketball Champions League, a 50-50 joint partnership between FIBA and European basketball leagues. The signature ceremony took place at the House of Basketball, FIBA’s HQ on the outskirts of Geneva. The 10 signatory European domestic leagues were Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Lithuania, Poland and Turkey. As a result, an independent and separate legal entity based in Switzerland has now formally been established and will be in charge of both organizing and commercializing the BCL. The BCL's first board of directors will consist of 18 representatives of the leagues and national federations. The league will officially be launched on March 21 in Paris (FIBA).
FOUR LEAGUES HOLD OUT: The EP reported the four ULEB leagues that have not signed up for the BCL are Spain, the U.K., Switzerland and Russia, "which are remaining firm in rejecting the new competition that would present conflicts with the Euroleague" (EP, 3/3).
