The Basketball Champions League (BCL) is an annual
professional
A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...
basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...
competition for European
clubs
Club may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Club'' (magazine)
* Club, a '' Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character
* Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards
* Club music
* "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea''
Brands and enterprises ...
, organised by
FIBA
The International Basketball Federation (FIBA ; French: ) is an association of national organizations which governs the sport of basketball worldwide. Originally known as the (hence FIBA), in 1989 it dropped the word ''amateur'' from its nam ...
. It is the
top-level competition organised by
FIBA Europe
FIBA Europe is the administrative body for basketball in Europe, within the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), which includes all 50 national European basketball federations. In reaction to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, FIBA Euro ...
, therefore the champion participates in the
FIBA Intercontinental Cup
The FIBA Intercontinental Cup, also commonly referred to as the FIBA World Cup for Champion Clubs, or the FIBA Club World Cup, is a professional basketball clubs competition that is endorsed by FIBA and the NBA. Historically, its purpose has b ...
.
Clubs qualify for the competition based on their performance in their national leagues and cup competitions. Although exceptional, some teams can be
wildcard
Wild card most commonly refers to:
* Wild card (cards), a playing card that substitutes for any other card in card games
* Wild card (sports), a tournament or playoff place awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal pla ...
ed.
Creation and adoption
In October 2015, FIBA attempted to take back control of Europe's top-tier club competition, by proposing a new competition, featuring 16 teams playing in a round-robin format, and granting eight guaranteed spots to different clubs. When top European clubs decided to maintain the same competition format, keeping organization within
Euroleague Basketball
Euroleague Basketball is the private company that runs and operates the top continental-wide basketball men's professional sports club competitions in Europe, the first-tier level EuroLeague, and the second-tier level EuroCup. It has been org ...
, FIBA announced launch of a new European basketball club competition, with qualification based on sporting merit.
Format
Tournament
The tournament proper begins with a regular season of 32 teams, divided into four groups.
Seeding
The term seeding and related terms such as seeded are used in several different contexts:
*Sowing, planting seeds in a place or on an object
*Cloud seeding, manipulating cloud formations
*Seeding (computing), a concept in computing and peer-to-pee ...
is used in the draw for this stage, and teams from the same country may not be drawn into groups together. Each team meets the others in its group in home and away games, in a round-robin format. The top four teams from each group then progress to the play-offs. The fifth and sixth-placed teams can choose to enter the
FIBA Europe Cup
The FIBA Europe Cup (FEC) is an annual professional club basketball competition organised by FIBA for eligible European clubs. It is FIBA's European-wide second level. Clubs mainly qualify for the competition based on their performance in natio ...
playoffs in the same season.
The regular season is played from October to January, and the playoffs start in February. In the round of 16 and quarter-finals, ties are played in a 'home and away' format, based on aggregate scores. For the round of 16, the winning team from one group plays against the fourth-placed team from another group and the runner-up from one group plays against the third-placed team from another group. For the quarter-finals, the winners of games between the group winners and fourth-placed teams play against the winners from the runners-up and third-placed teams. The Final Four is typically held in the final week of April or the first week of May.
Arena rules
Currently, the minimum
seating capacity
Seating capacity is the number of people who can be seated in a specific space, in terms of both the physical space available, and limitations set by law. Seating capacity can be used in the description of anything ranging from an automobile that ...
for home arenas of the
clubs
Club may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Club'' (magazine)
* Club, a '' Yie Ar Kung-Fu'' character
* Clubs (suit), a suit of playing cards
* Club music
* "Club", by Kelsea Ballerini from the album ''kelsea''
Brands and enterprises ...
that compete in the Basketball Champions League (BCL) is 3,000 seats. However, the Basketball Champions League organizing body has the authority to grant clubs with smaller arenas a waiver of the rule.
Prizes
Trophy
Each year, the winning team is presented with the Basketball Champions League Trophy. The current trophy is tall and made of sterling silver with 24ct gold plated highlights, weighing . It was designed by Radiant Studios and crafted by Thomas Lyte. A basketball net forms the focus of the trophy, and the design creates the effect of a crown.
Prize money
From 2016–17 to 2017–18, FIBA reduced the prize money from €5,200,000 to €3,500,000, but doubled the prize for the winner from €500,000 to €1,000,000.
As of 2017–18, FIBA awards a base fee of €50,000 for reaching the regular season. In addition, FIBA pays teams reaching the round of 16 €20,000, each quarter-finalist €30,000, €40,000 for the fourth-placed team, €100,000 for the third-placed team, €300,000 for the runners-up, and €900,000 for the winners.
*Base fee for the regular season: €50,000
*Round of 16: €70,000
*Quarter-finals: €100,000
*4th placed team: €140,000
*3rd placed team: €200,000
*Losing finalist: €400,000
*Winning the Final: €1,000,000
Results
Performances by club
![Basketball Champions League regular season](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/21/Basketball_Champions_League_regular_season.svg)
A total of 93 clubs from 27 national associations have played in or qualified for the Champions League group stage.
Broadcasting rights
Awards
Winning rosters
See also
* Men's competitions
**
EuroLeague
**
EuroCup Basketball
** Basketball Champions League
**
FIBA Europe Cup
The FIBA Europe Cup (FEC) is an annual professional club basketball competition organised by FIBA for eligible European clubs. It is FIBA's European-wide second level. Clubs mainly qualify for the competition based on their performance in natio ...
* Women's competitions
**
EuroLeague Women
**
EuroCup Women
The EuroCup Women (officially ''FIBA EuroCup Women'') is the second-level basketball competition with teams from associate members of FIBA Europe.
It succeeds the Ronchetti Cup.
System of competition
As for the EuroLeague Women, the EuroCup had ...
**
SuperCup Women
References
External links
Basketball Champions League(official website)
FIBA(official website)
{{Men's professional basketball leagues
Champions League
Sports leagues established in 2016
2016 establishments in Europe
Multi-national professional sports leagues