Glickman shares when teams from Dubai and Russia could join the league / News - Basketnews.com

A team from Dubai will not be joining the league next season. There are no plans to put the new franchise in the EuroCup. Talking about a possible comeback of Russian teams, Glickman told that it will only be possible after the war is over.

Credit: Christina Pahnke/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images Credit Christina Pahnke/Euroleague Basketball via Getty Images

Ever since Marshall Glickman took over as the CEO of EuroLeague last summer, talks have been going on about a possible team in Dubai that would join the competition.

EuroLeague clubs even had a dedicated meeting at the start of the season to discuss the matter in greater detail. Talking with Arale Weisberg from Walla Sport, Glickman shared that the newly-formed team would not be joining the tournament next year.

"A team from Dubai won't participate in the EuroLeague next season. We've had many conversations with them, for two years now, and the subject is of interest to us. If we manage to make it happen, it will only happen after deliberate thought and planning," he said.

"It is a different and special situation. Think, for example, of the logistics. If it takes four hours to get there from Tel Aviv, you have to fly there for seven hours from other parts of Europe. It's not easy. There is a growing market there, there is money, and there is a huge arena but there is no history and tradition, no league, and no team yet," Glickman explained. "We would like to see basketball start to develop a little there."

Asked whether it would be a viable solution to bring the team to the EuroCup first, the CEO pushed back against the idea.

"The Eurocup has really small clubs with a low budget, and it would be difficult to ask them to fly to Dubai," he said. "It would be really nice to bring Dubai into the EuroLeague family, and it would also make a political statement. I enjoy seeing the Greeks and Turks on the court together. Watching the Israelis play against the Arabs from Dubai would be great."

Three Russian teams, with one of them being a shareholder (CSKA Moscow), were suspended from the competition a year ago after Russia started the full-out war in Ukraine. Glickman says that only one condition has to be met for them to come back to the tournament.

"Not before the war is over," he answered to a question on when the teams are going to be back. "We will follow the decisions of the International Olympic Committee and other major bodies, and act accordingly."

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