The Euroleaguethe premier class in European basketball, expands for the new season and, according to Sportschau information, also awards a starting place to a club from Dubai. Investors from the Arab world also play an increasingly important role in European basketball, at the latest since the NBA plays in the power struggle of the associations.
As the Euroleague announced last week, Europe’s highest basketball league will be increased from the coming season: Instead of 18 Euroleague play. This has that Board of Directors Decided, the management committee with 13 top clubs as shareholders, including FC Bayern.
Euroleague decision: BC Dubai in the future in the premier class
What the Euroleague has not yet announced is which clubs are added. This is precisely this information that has a certain explosiveness: According to reports from the AFP news agency, which coincide with Sportschau information, the BC Dubai will get a fixed starting place.
The list of 20 clubs, including the club from Dubai, has already been approved by the Euroleague shareholders. It only has to be officially ratified by the general assembly in the early July, in which representatives of the European professionals are also sitting. However, this is considered a matter of form. A club from the Arab Gulf will start in the largest, prestigious European competition from the coming season. Together with traditional brands such as Real Madrid, Olympiacos Piraeus or Bayern Munich.
BC Dubai, new signing in Europe’s basketball king class
There were initial talks about a possible entry of the club from Dubai three years ago. Last summer, at Final Four In Berlin, it was said of Euroleague management that the negotiations were stopped for the time being. But they apparently continued in the background, while the club from Dubai had a foot in the door in European basketball: the Emiratis had secured a place in the ABA league, a kind of Balkan superliga with top clubs from the former Yugoslavia.
Successful in the ABA league and with good connections to the Balkans
The ABA league had already in the past Wildcards Poured out of ex-Yugoslavia on clubs, for example to Maccabi Tel Aviv, but was then away from strengthening the development of the local clubs. But with the offer from Dubai you apparently became weak again, according to media reports there is said to have been a million mark on the clubs. Even with the fans in the Balkans, the initial skepticism gave way to fans Zadar even organized vacation strips for the away games in Dubai, the travel costs of the teams are said to have taken over the Emiratis.
The club from Dubai also has close connections to the Balkans: Managing Director and responsible person for the sporting area is Dejan Kamenjasevic. A Bosnian who worked in Spanish basketball for a long time, including as an assistant to coaching legend Svetislav Pesic. Kamenjasevic has been living in Dubai for ten years and is correspondingly well networked in the local economy. He founded an academy for basketball talents, which also maintains cooperation with international schools, for the many, often economically successful expats that live in the golf metropolis. According to their own statements, around 500 young people play on the Dubai Academy.
His good contacts in European basketball, where many coaches and officials work with Yugoslav roots, also helped the manager to stomp a professional club in Dubai. With a squad that can exist at the highest European level, this was the declared goal of the club tour.
Star player and VIPs like Jokic in the hall – thanks to millions from Dubai
The team from Jurica Golemacwho among other things at the top club in Ljubljana worked. Golemaca former Slovenian international, Dubai in the ABA league in the first season Playoff-led. The Coach Should be a client of the mighty Serbian consultant agency, as well as a number of players in Dubais squad, including the expected new star shop, Serbia’s playmaker Aleksa Avramovic.
Successful with Dubai, soon also in the Euroleague: Coach Jurica Golemac
In the previous year, the fact that money is not a problem at BC Dubai showed the obligation of NBA-Routinian Davis Bertans. Megastars such as Nikola Jokic or Rory McIlroy flown in and put in the first row to decent traffic to generate on social media. The owner of the club belongs to the powerful Al Naboodah-Familie, whose group of “Forbes Middle East“On a list of 100 most important family businesses in the entire Golf region.
Close connections to Ruling family In Dubai
At official dates, the BC Dubai team presented itself with the department head of Dubai Sports Councila state authority that is directly subordinate to the Dubai ruling family. The basketball project from Dubai is strongly reminiscent of the Sportswashing-Entrepreneurs that have already been implemented by other authoritarian countries on the Golf.
In the United Arab Emirates (VAE) there are also close, sometimes also family relationships between the economic elite and the ruling family, says Sebastian Sons, expert for the Golfregion by the Carpo Institute, which is also supported by partners by the Arabian Peninsula. Investments and Deal In sports, therefore, could not take place without the blessing of the ruling families.
The Emirates acted more reserved so far, explains Sons. The criticism from Europe around the World Cup in Qatar and the World Cup allocation to Saudi Arabia had been carefully registered in the VAE, and similarly negative reporting was to be avoided. “Dubai is a well -known brand as a tourism destination in Europe, and a hub for trade and business. Establishing a basketball club in the Euroleague also aims to make Dubai as an investment location and as an economic player even better known.”
Euroleague is drawn to the Arabic Golf
With its expansion towards Dubai, the Euroleague follows the trend at the other large sports associations to tap the immense sources of money on the Arabic Gulf, regardless of democratic deficits and human rights violations of the regime located there. Already the past Final Four took place in Abu Dhabi.
Olympicos star Evan Fournier at the Final Four in Abu Dhabi
Finally, the Euroleague roof organization for a Wildcardlimited to three years, called up to five million euros. During the negotiations that should be Headquarters Have also shown openly for higher commandments, as reported by club managers. The new member from Dubai should also flow more than the minimum contribution, especially since the Golf’s club is even said to have been granted a starting right for five years.
Power struggle in European basketball – with the NBA as a new big player
The Euroleague sees itself exposed to a changed economic environment, especially since the NBAin collaboration with the World Association Fiba, made plans for a new European league. Without the Euroleague that has to fear for her supremacy. The money of Arab investors is also said to be involved in the NBA European project. In European basketball, there could be a race for petrodollars in the future.
In the basketball Bundesliga (BBL) you will mainly take care of the even greater stress if the Euroleague bloated on 20 teams tears off even more game days in the future: 38 instead of 34, in addition to the game in the Bundesliga. With the new format, there will probably be a total of ten weeks with double match days in the Euroleague for the new season, with two games for each team during the week, distributed between Tuesday and Friday.
BBL managing director Wood: “Impact on our competition”
FC Bayern, after the withdrawal of Alba Berlin the only German club in the premier class, announced when asked about Sportschau that they had voted against an increase in the Euroleague board. The burden for the players is already borderline, says BBL managing director Stefan Holz. “FC Bayern is our draft horse. Some clubs move their home games to the big halls when FC Bayern comes. But you cannot keep the focus over 80 games and more, that’s only human. It definitely has Impact on our competition and it will be more with every further game. “
In the future even more games in the Euroleague for FC Bayern
Further conflicts about the game plan, which is already sewn on edge, are programmed. In the past, the Munich team had complained about approaches on Saturday, immediately after a strenuous Euroleague trip. The other BBL clubs in turn and the media partners also want to play an attractive home game against FC Bayern on a Saturday evening. Especially since the Munich team are the only team in the BBL in which world champions from 2023 are still playing. However, the important decisions, it seems, will be made elsewhere in basketball.