FIBA has gone into a "head-to-head confrontation" with organizers of the Euroleague by launching its own Champions League in Europe, according to the AFP. FIBA has threatened to "ban national teams from European Championships if their top clubs play in the Eurocup, which is linked to Euroleague," rather than the new Champions League. The battle "could be decided in the courts." FIBA officially announced its Champions League on Monday. The 32-team, $5M contest starts in September. Each team will get a minimum of €100,000 ($112,000) and the winner €500,000 ($560,000) -- "far below Euroleague’s riches." FIBA orginally ran the European Champions Cup, which ran until '00 when top clubs, including Real Madrid, Barcelona and CSKA Moscow, broke away to set up the Euroleague Basketball Company and their own championship. Since then Euroleague and the second-level Eurocup have been the "top two club contests in the continent." This year, Euroleague has said it will cut the contest from 24 to 16 teams -- with 11 clubs given "permanent berths." Each side will "reportedly be guaranteed millions in revenues." FIBA has agreed that Euroleague "should remain the top contest but wants its own Champions League to become the second ranking event, ahead of Eurocup." France Secretary of State for Sport Thierry Braillard has backed the new league and said that Euroleague is "based just on the financial interests of a few, brushing aside collective interests and sporting values." FIBA COO Markus Studer said, "The fundamental principle of the Basketball Champions League is that it is a competition based on a sporting criterion. This will not only protect the national leagues but also dramatically increase their value while also helping our sport grow" (AFP, 3/22).
