Basketball Champions League
 | |
| 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 |
| International cup | FIBA Intercontinental Cup |
| Related competitions | FIBA Europe Cup |
| Current champions |  Rytas (1st title) (2025–26) |
| Most championships |  Canarias San Pablo Burgos Unicaja Malaga(2 titles each) |
| TV partners | courtside1891.basketball |
| Website | championsleague.basketball |
 2026–27 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.
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
[edit]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 clubs playing in a round-robin format. The top European clubs decided to remain in the Euroleague Basketball and adopt the same format, 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 BCL clubs.[8]
Format
[edit]Tournament
[edit]The tournament proper begins with a regular season of 32 clubs divided into 4 groups. Seeding is used and clubs from the same country don't together. Games are held in a round-robin format. The top 4 from each group progress to the play-offs.[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 winner from one group plays against the fourth-placed from another group, and the runner-up against the third-placed from another group. The Final Four is typically held in the final week of April or the first week of May.[9]
Arena rules
[edit]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
[edit]Trophy
[edit]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 net forms the focus of the trophy, and the design creates the effect of a crown.[11]
Prize money
[edit]From 2016–17 to 2017–18, FIBA reduced the overall prize money from €5,200,000 to €3,500,000, but doubled the winner's prize 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 clubs reaching the round of 16 €20,000, each quarter-finalist €30,000, €40,000 for the fourth-placed, €100,000 for the third-placed, €300,000 for the runners-up, and €900,000 for the winners.[9]
Results
[edit]| Year | Final | Third and fourth place | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winners | Score | Second place | Third place | Score | Fourth place | |||
| 2016–17 Details |
La Laguna Tenerife |
63–59 |  Banvit |
 Monaco |
91–77 |  Reyer Venezia | ||
| 2017–18 Details |
 AEK |
100–94 | Monaco |
UCAM Murcia |
85–74 |  Ludwigsburg | ||
| 2018–19 Details |
Virtus Bologna |
73–61 | La Laguna Tenerife |
 Antwerp Giants |
72–58 | Bamberg Baskets | ||
| 2019–20 Details |
San Pablo Burgos |
85–74 | AEK |
JDA Dijon |
70–65 | Zaragoza | ||
| 2020–21 Details |
San Pablo Burgos |
64–59 | Karşıyaka |
Zaragoza |
89–77 | SIG Strasbourg | ||
| 2021–22 Details |
La Laguna Tenerife |
98–87 | BAXI Manresa |
Ludwigsburg |
88–68 |  Hapoel Holon | ||
| 2022–23 Details |
Telekom Bonn |
77–70 | Hapoel Jerusalem |
La Laguna Tenerife |
84–79 | Unicaja Málaga | ||
| 2023–24 Details |
Unicaja Málaga |
80–75 | La Laguna Tenerife |
UCAM Murcia |
87–84 | Peristeri | ||
| 2024–25 Details |
Unicaja Málaga |
83–67 | Galatasaray |
AEK |
77–73 | La Laguna Tenerife | ||
| 2025–26 Details |
Rytas Vilnius |
92–86 | AEK |
Unicaja Málaga |
85–80 | La Laguna Tenerife | ||
Performances by club
[edit]
Over a hundred clubs from 28 national associations have played in or qualified for the Champions League group stage.
| Club | Winners | Runners-up | Years won | Years runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tenerife |
2 | 2 | 2017, 2022 | 2019, 2024 |
| Unicaja Malaga |
2 | 0 | 2024, 2025 | – |
| San Pablo Burgos |
2 | 0 | 2020, 2021 | – |
| AEK |
1 | 2 | 2018 | 2020, 2026 |
| Virtus Bologna |
1 | 0 | 2019 | – |
| Baskets Bonn |
1 | 0 | 2023 | – |
| Rytas Vilnius |
1 | 0 | 2026 | – |
| Bandırma |
0 | 1 | – | 2017 |
| Monaco |
0 | 1 | – | 2018 |
| Karşıyaka |
0 | 1 | – | 2021 |
| Manresa |
0 | 1 | – | 2022 |
| Hapoel Jerusalem |
0 | 1 | – | 2023 |
| Galatasaray |
0 | 1 | – | 2025 |
Medals (2016–present)
[edit]| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Spain | 6 | 3 | 5 | 14 |
| 2 | Greece | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 3 | Germany | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 4 | Italy | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Lithuania | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 6 | Turkey | 0 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| 7 | France | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 8 | Israel | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 9 | Belgium | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Totals (9 entries) | 10 | 10 | 10 | 30 | |
Broadcasting rights
[edit]| Country/Region | Broadcaster | Free/Pay | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| International | YouTube | Free | |
| LiveBasketball.TV | Pay | ||
| ESPN3 | Pay | [13] | |
| Balkans | Arena Sport | ||
| Alternativna TV | Free | [14] | |
 Austria |
DAZN | Pay | [15][16] |
| Spain[a] | |||
 Switzerland | |||
| 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] |
 Latvia |
TV3 Group | Free & Pay | [22] |
| Lithuania |
TV3 Group | Free & Pay | |
 Poland |
Canal+ Premium | Pay | [23] |
 Romania |
Look Sport | Free | |
| Turkey |
Tivibu Spor | Free & Pay | [24] |
 Vietnam |
VTVCab |
- ↑ Only games of Spanish teams.
Awards
[edit]
Winning coaches and captains
[edit]| Year | Coach | Team | Captain |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Txus Vidorreta |
Iberostar Tenerife |  Nicolás Richotti |
| 2018 | AEK BC | Dušan Šakota | |
| 2019 |  Aleksandar Đorđević |
Virtus Bologna | Pietro Aradori |
| 2020 | Joan Peñarroya |
CB San Pablo Burgos |  Vítor Benite |
| 2021 | Joan Peñarroya (2) |
CB San Pablo Burgos | Vítor Benite (2) |
| 2022 | Txus Vidorreta (2) |
Iberostar Tenerife | Marcelinho Huertas |
| 2023 |  Tuomas Iisalo |
Telekom Baskets Bonn | Karsten Tadda |
| 2024 | Ibon Navarro |
Unicaja Malaga | Alberto Díaz |
| 2025 | Ibon Navarro (2) |
Unicaja Malaga | Alberto Díaz (2) |
| 2026 | Giedrius Žibėnas |
Rytas Vilnius | Artūras Gudaitis |
Winning rosters
[edit]Youth competition
[edit]In January 2023, the BCL launched its under-18 competition named the Youth Basketball Champions League (YBCL).[25] The inaugural season was hosted in the Turkish city of Bursa and featured 10 clubs. The winners of the inaugural season were Igokea.
See also
[edit]Men's competitions
[edit]Women's competitions
[edit]Sources
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ "Champions League - Wild Card 2018-19 in arrivo per la Segafredo Bologna" (in Italian). Pianeta Basket. 6 March 2018.
- ↑ "Bamberg schenkt Euroleague ab" (in German). 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.
- 1 2 3 4 "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 Polish). 2020-11-03. Retrieved 2022-01-20.
- ↑ "Basketbol Şampiyonlar Ligi Tivibu Spor'da". Türk Telekom Medya Merkezi (in Turkish). 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.
External links
[edit]- FIBA Champions League – Official website
- FIBA Europe – Official website
- FIBA – Official website
- Courtside 1891 – Official website
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