BCL CEO Patrick Comninos: 'We offer a more stable competition here' / News - Basketnews.com

Basketball Champions League CEO Patrick Comninos believes a more stable financial system is a big part of teams choosing the league over the EuroLeague system. Comninos believes that having 4 international club competitions in Europe is too much.

Credit: FIBA Credit FIBA

Since its inaugural season in 2017, the Basketball Champions League (BCL) has seen steady growth throughout the years. However, with the currently divided European basketball landscape, the league still faces the struggle of having to compete with the EuroLeague system each year.

Multiple clubs move over from EuroCup to BCL and vice versa each year, following the path that seems right for the current situation. BCL's CEO Patrick Comninos thinks that the main reason teams do not choose his organization's tournament is due to an ambition of playing in the EuroLeague someday.

"We know that what we offer financially remains very interesting, especially a check for a million euros to the winning club. We also know that other clubs prefer to play in the Eurocup but that is primarily related to the goal of having a season in the Euroleague. We respect that but it remains a point of concern," Comninos told Basket Europe.

Comninos later noted that even participation in the top European basketball tournament might become one of the reasons to join the BCL.

"Following a season in the EuroLeague, the club's budget is stretched because there is no continuity when the club is no longer in the EuroLeague. The result is that we have three recent EuroCup champions in the Champions League this season (Galatasaray, Unicaja Malaga, Darussafaka), clubs who have all seen the impact that a one-off season in the Euroleague has had on their finances and who see a more stable competition here," the BCL operative said.

"We don't force clubs to increase their budget, and that's the beauty of our league," he explained. "We sometimes even have very small budgets that manage to compete like our outgoing finalist Manresa."

Combining both systems, there are currently four international club tournaments in Europe - EuroLeague, EuroCup, Basketball Champions League, and FIBA Europe Cup. With tension between the EuroLeague and FIBA at a recent high following the 2023 FIBA World Cup windows, Comninos admitted that a solution has to be found.

"We need to see how everyone can contribute to improving the current situation. I think four European competitions are too many," the BCL operative told.

"We have to find the right balance between the number of competitions and the number of clubs playing in the European tournaments because we have to take into account that we have 120 clubs playing in European competitions today," he continued. "It is necessary to determine what the sacrifice should look for clubs who would no longer compete in Europe. That's why it can't be a one-sided discussion."

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