EuroLeague, the most prestigious basketball tournament in Europe, is preparing for a format change in the coming years.
Idman.Biz reports that EuroLeague CEO Paulius Moteunas has announced that extensive innovations are being discussed regarding the future format of the competition. According to him, a number of new models are being considered within the league.
Possible innovations include organizing an "All-Star Game", holding a new tournament in the middle of the season, expanding the competition to 24 teams, and dividing it into two conferences. Moteunas stated that the ideal option is a 24 or 22-team system, and this number of teams can be implemented by dividing them into two separate conferences. According to him, the goal is to make the calendar less busy and add new dynamics to the tournament.
The EuroLeague leader also noted that during the transition to a two-conference structure, the absolute preservation of historical confrontations - especially the "Olympiacos" - "Panathinaikos" derby - is one of the main conditions. Long trips and logistics issues are not considered critical; the main goal is for historical games to remain in the tournament. This statement was published by sport24.gr.
Moteunas added that EuroLeague aims to increase the total value of the league to 3 billion euros (approximately 5.6 billion AZN) in the next three to five years. According to him, this is not about income, but about the target value indicator agreed upon with the clubs and the league management.