CERNOBBIO — EuroLeague Basketball leaders and shareholder clubs have described their two-day gathering at Villa d’Este in Cernobbio, Lake Como, as a historic milestone, stressing unity and collective decision-making as the competition prepares for expansion and a potential shift to a franchise-based model.
The meeting brought together EuroLeague Commercial Assets (ECA) shareholder clubs, owners and executives alongside league leadership as European basketball faces strategic decisions over expansion, investment opportunities and potential NBA involvement. “This is one of the most important meetings in the history of the EuroLeague,” EuroLeague Basketball president Dejan Bodiroga said in the official recap video, while Olympiacos co-owner Giorgos Angelopoulos described the gathering as a historic day and a milestone for European basketball and his brother Panagiotis Angelopoulos stressed the importance of remaining united and making decisions together in the collective interest of the clubs.
Panathinaikos owner Dimitris Giannakopoulos emphasised growth through cooperation, arguing organisations should exchange views, share information and learn from one another because they face a common future. “We have built something over 26 years and we can grow it much more if we stay together,” Maccabi Tel Aviv chairman Shimon Mizrahi said, with FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta echoing the call for unity and FC Bayern Munich president Herbert Hainer outlining his ambition for the competition to become the main reference point whenever people discuss European basketball. EuroLeague Basketball CEO Chus Bueno said the clubs had decided to pursue the next phase together, while Zalgiris Kaunas owner Paulius Motiejunas described EuroLeague as the top of the European basketball ecosystem and LDLC ASVEL owner and coach Tony Parker highlighted its distinctive identity alongside the NBA.
The gathering followed the unanimous approval on 6 October of a 10-year business plan by all 13 shareholder clubs, which projects a combined value exceeding €13 billion for the league and its licensed clubs alongside €3.4 billion in distributions to participating teams. Under the strategy, EuroLeague intends to expand from 20 to 24 teams for the 2027-28 season and introduce two conferences, with a longer-term transition toward a franchise-based model supported by 15 binding offers from prospective entrants reportedly worth a combined €1.2 billion.
Those ambitions are unfolding as the NBA explores establishing its own competition in Europe, leaving the future relationship between the leagues uncertain. The framework builds on EuroLeague's plan to move to 24 teams with conferences in 2027-28, which forms a central pillar of the league’s next-phase strategy.