Latest news with #BritishBasketball
BBC News
10 hours ago
- Business
- BBC News
Super League Basketball to sue governing body
Super League Basketball (SLB) says it has begun legal action against the British Basketball Federation (BBF), accusing the governing body of abusing its position and breaching UK competition law. The SLB says it is being undermined by the BBF's decision to refuse to issue governing body endorsements (GBEs) - a requirement for any club wanting to sign an overseas player requiring a visa - unless it accepts a one-year deal to keep SLB says that decision is designed to put its clubs at a "competitive disadvantage to any rival league favoured by BBF" and could be in breach of the UK Government's code of practice for sports governing organisations had been in dispute over the BBF's decision to terminate an interim deal with the SLB and instead agree a 15-year deal with GBB League Ltd (GBBL) to run the men's professional league from the 2026-27 says the BBF has since acknowledged that it does not need a licence to operate and just needs to be recognised as a added that it has no issue with another league being given a UK licence, but wants to operate "free from unlawful harm".SLB was awarded an interim three-year licence last July to replace the British Basketball League, which collapsed amid financial in April the BBF agreed the deal with GBBL, saying that because SLB had elected not to bid for a long-term licence it activated a clause to terminate the interim agreement at the end of the 2024-25 disputed that view, saying it had withdrawn from the tender process after "concerns were raised over the legality of the BBF's actions" and that its nine clubs would refuse to Sport has contacted the BBF for comment.
The Guardian
5 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Four leading British basketball clubs blocked from Europe as civil war deepens
The civil war engulfing British Basketball has intensified with the British Basketball Federation attempting to block four of the country's leading clubs from competing in Europe next season. The Guardian has learned that the BBF is refusing to endorse applications for European places made by Manchester Basketball, London Lions, Newcastle Eagles and Bristol Flyers, which has put their participation at risk. In another development, it is being claimed that the BBF is threatening to thwart visa applications for overseas players for next season made by a number of Super League Basketball clubs. The BBF and clubs are at loggerheads after the governing body last month awarded a 15-year licence to operate a new Great Britain Basketball League from the 2026-27 season to an American consortium led by the former NBA executive Marshall Glickman. The nine existing SLB clubs are refusing to join, and have had their interim licence to run their own league next season suspended by the BBF. In an attempt to resolve matters it is understood that the BBF last week offered the SLB another 12-month licence that would enable the league to operate next season, a proposal that was rejected by the clubs. The BBF's position is that as the SLB is operating without a licence it cannot endorse applications to join competitions organised by the Federation of International Basketball Associations, as doing so would jeopardise their own position. The BBF has informed Manchester that their application to join Europe's premier competition, the Basketball Champions League, would not be endorsed and the club have now missed the deadline to register. An email from the BBF to Manchester sent earlier this week read: 'As Fiba's national member federation, the BBF will only endorse clubs competing in our officially sanctioned national championship competitions. Since notification of termination of the licence held by Super League Basketball Ltd has been issued, Manchester does not currently meet this requirement for the 2025-26 season. We are therefore unable to consider endorsement at this time.' Manchester are exploring legal action on the grounds of restraint of trade, while the BBF also faces the threat of being sued by the other clubs over the GBBL licensing process. The other SLB clubs are believed to be united in their support for Manchester. The BBF has also made it clear that it will not back the Lions' bid to join Europe's second-tier competition, the EuroCup. In addition, the governing body is not supporting attempts by the Eagles and the Flyers to join the European North Basketball League. Those competitions are not organised by Fiba, however, so it is unclear at this stage whether the BBF can block them. The BBF rejects claims that it is blocking visa applications, an allegation the federation regards as symptomatic of the entitlement of certain clubs. As the sport's governing body the BBF is charged with submitting governing body endorsements for potential overseas signings to the Home Office, and feels it is unable to do so for unlicensed clubs. The BBF declined to comment. A spokesperson for the London Lions told The Guardian: 'The London Lions stand unequivocally for the principle that British clubs should have the freedom to pursue excellence wherever it exists, to grow the game on the biggest stages. 'We hope that the decision to keep Manchester Basketball Club out of Basketball Champions League is reversed, which will allow growth of professional basketball in the UK, providing opportunities for British athletes, coaches, and clubs to compete at the highest level.'
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Four leading British basketball clubs blocked from Europe as civil war deepens
The BBF has made it clear it will not back London Lions' bid to join the EuroCup. The BBF has made it clear it will not back London Lions' bid to join the EuroCup. Photograph: Carol Moir/Alamy The civil war engulfing British Basketball has intensified with the British Basketball Federation attempting to block four of the country's leading clubs from competing in Europe next season. The Guardian has learned that the BBF is refusing to endorse applications for European places made by Manchester Basketball, London Lions, Newcastle Eagles and Bristol Flyers, which has put their participation at risk. Advertisement Related: Hoop dreams in peril as British basketball's crisis reaches boiling point In another development, it is being claimed that the BBF is threatening to thwart visa applications for overseas players for next season made by a number of Super League Basketball clubs. The BBF and clubs are at loggerheads after the governing body last month awarded a 15-year licence to operate a new Great Britain Basketball League from the 2026-27 season to an American consortium led by the former NBA executive Marshall Glickman. The nine existing SLB clubs are refusing to join, and have had their interim licence to run their own league next season suspended by the BBF. In an attempt to resolve matters it is understood that the BBF last week offered the SLB another 12-month licence that would enable the league to operate next season, a proposal that was rejected by the clubs. Advertisement The BBF's position is that as the SLB is operating without a licence it cannot endorse applications to join competitions organised by the Federation of International Basketball Associations, as doing so would jeopardise their own position. The BBF has informed Manchester that their application to join Europe's premier competition, the Basketball Champions League, would not be endorsed and the club have now missed the deadline to register. An email from the BBF to Manchester sent earlier this week read: 'As Fiba's national member federation, the BBF will only endorse clubs competing in our officially sanctioned national championship competitions. Since notification of termination of the licence held by Super League Basketball Ltd has been issued, Manchester does not currently meet this requirement for the 2025-26 season. We are therefore unable to consider endorsement at this time.' Manchester are exploring legal action on the grounds of restraint of trade, while the BBF also faces the threat of being sued by the other clubs over the GBBL licensing process. The other SLB clubs are believed to be united in their support for Manchester. Advertisement The BBF has also made it clear that it will not back the Lions' bid to join Europe's second-tier competition, the EuroCup. In addition, the governing body is not supporting attempts by the Eagles and the Flyers to join the European North Basketball League. Those competitions are not organised by Fiba, however, so it is unclear at this stage whether the BBF can block them. The BBF rejects claims that it is blocking visa applications, an allegation the federation regards as symptomatic of the entitlement of certain clubs. As the sport's governing body the BBF is charged with submitting governing body endorsements for potential overseas signings to the Home Office, and feels it is unable to do so for unlicensed clubs. The BBF declined to comment. A spokesperson for the London Lions told The Guardian: 'The London Lions stand unequivocally for the principle that British clubs should have the freedom to pursue excellence wherever it exists, to grow the game on the biggest stages. 'We hope that the decision to keep Manchester Basketball Club out of Basketball Champions League is reversed, which will allow growth of professional basketball in the UK, providing opportunities for British athletes, coaches, and clubs to compete at the highest level.'
The Guardian
20-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Rival league forges ahead in fresh twist to British basketball's civil war
The machinations over football's European Super League feel like a distant threat compared with the civil war in British basketball between the top-flight clubs and the sport's governing body. Leicester Riders claimed a record-equalling seventh Super League Basketball title in the final on Sunday against Newcastle Eagles at a packed O2 Arena, but it is unclear whether the league will even take place next season. The Championship game was overshadowed by the announcement last week of more detail surrounding the British Basketball Federation's awarding of a 15-year licence to operate a new Great Britain Basketball League to an American consortium led by the former NBA executive Marshall Glickman. Glickman's group, which is backed by the Seattle-based private equity company West River Group and several unknown athlete investors, has committed to a £15m upfront payment to cover operating costs for the first two years of the new league, which will launch for the 2026-27 season. As a former president of Portland Trailblazers and acting chief executive of EuroLeague Basketball, Glickman has considerable pedigree but also a significant problem: the existing clubs are refusing to join. As reported previously by the Guardian the nine existing SLB clubs are threatening legal action against the BBF over allegations that the tender process was unlawful and have asked the sports minister, Stephanie Peacock, to investigate, while the governing body denies any wrongdoing. In footballing terms, the situation is akin to the Football Association setting up a new domestic league without the Premier League clubs. The BBF has triggered a 12-month break clause in the three-year licence it awarded the SLB clubs to run the league last summer; with the GBBL not due to start until 2026‑27, arrangements for next season are unclear, not helped by growing acrimony on both sides. In his first interview since signing the licence, Glickman, who will be aided in an advisory capacity by the London 2012 Games bid chief Sir Keith Mills, says he would like the SLB clubs to join, but is bullish about the league's prospects if they do not. 'We have reached out to the SLB clubs multiple times going back months,' he says. 'They have not been willing to engage. We would really like them to engage, but I don't know if and when they will. There have been written responses that basically said: 'We're not interested in talking to you.' 'I don't understand what the clubs are complaining about. They signed the licence. They knew what they were signing. Everybody understood that the federation was going to put a tender out for a long-term licensee. 'We looked at the tender and, frankly, we thought that they were also going to bid. We were quite surprised when they did not. What motivated them to not bid for the tender and then complain about the process is hard to understand.' Glickman's group is planning a major expansion with or without the existing clubs, with an immediate increase from the nine clubs to a 10-team competition in 2026 followed by further growth to 12 and then 14 clubs. Talks are under way with potential operators of new clubs in Leeds, Liverpool, Birmingham, Southampton, Cardiff and Edinburgh, while there will also be a strong presence in London and Manchester. 'I don't think players will be a problem,' Glickman says. 'I mean, there's a lot of players, so I'm not concerned about players. And there are a lot of venues. There's a lot of markets that do not have teams today, and there are certain markets that may have teams but there could be other teams. There are multiple open venues that we're in touch with. I would anticipate that ultimately, we will have a mix of SLB clubs and expansion clubs.' Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion A major part of Glickman's strategy is to secure a terrestrial broadcast partner, and there are hopes the BBC will be interested in taking at least one game a week given the data which shows basketball's growing popularity among younger, diverse audiences. 'We want a certain number of games on free-to-air television,' Glickman says. 'We think that's really important, to make it as accessible as possible to the most number of people. 'We all know what's happening right now in sports – it's paywall, paywall, paywall. I think I have 12 different apps on my television. And at the end of the month I go: 'Boy, I just spent $500 in order to watch live sports!' 'So live sports is something that's really compelling. And I think over time, we can really begin to build an audience and increase the relevance and popularity of basketball in Great Britain.' The format of the competition will also change, with the number of regular season matches reduced and the playoffs slimmed down, but several extra tournaments added to the league campaign. 'They just did the playoffs – there are nine teams and eight teams made the playoffs,' Glickman says. 'We don't agree with that. In the new league, one and two will reach the playoffs, then three to six play a tournament in one weekend to decide who joins them. 'And we will stage a series of mini-tournaments throughout the season in big arenas, with points available for the league standings. So one weekend it's Birmingham, the next one it's Manchester, the next time it's Liverpool. In that weekend, they play a tournament over two days and those points roll over into the table. 'We'll turn those big weekends into a communal gathering. I'm not British so you'll have to tell me if I'm full of crap here, but Brits like big events and like to hang out. That's what the whole pub thing is all about, right? It's about hanging out. And it's about gathering. So we intend to create the best hangout in Great Britain on those weekends.'
