Basketball Champions League
European basketball tournament
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Basketball Champions League (BCL), also commonly known as the FIBA Champions League, is an annual professional basketball competition for European clubs, organised by FIBA. It is the top-level competition organised by FIBA Europe, therefore the champion participates in the FIBA Intercontinental Cup.
| |
| Organising body | FIBA Europe |
|---|---|
| Founded | 21 March 2016 |
| First season | 2016–17 |
| Region | Europe |
| Number of teams | 32 (regular season) 56 (total) |
| Level on pyramid | 1 |
| International cup | FIBA Intercontinental Cup |
| Related competitions | FIBA Europe Cup |
| Current champions |  Unicaja Malaga (2nd title) (2024–25) |
| Most championships | Canarias San Pablo Burgos Unicaja Malaga (2 titles each) |
| TV partners | courtside1891.basketball |
| Website | championsleague.basketball |
 2025–26 Basketball Champions League | |
Clubs qualify for the competition mostly based on performance in their national leagues and cup competitions. Although exceptional, some teams can be wildcarded.[1][2]
Each season consists of 32 teams. The inaugural season was held in 2016–17 and since then five different clubs won the competition. Canarias, San Pablo Burgos and Malaga hold the joint record of most BCL titles with two each.
Creation and adoption
In October 2015, FIBA attempted to take back control of Europe's top-tier club competition,[3][4] by proposing a new competition, featuring 16 teams playing in a round-robin format, and granting eight guaranteed spots to 8 clubs (Panathinaikos, Olympiakos, Real Madrid, Barcelona, Maccabi Tel Aviv, CSKA Moscow, Fenerbahce and Efes Pilsen). The top European clubs decided to remain in the Euroleague Basketball and adopt the same round-robin format in their own competition with 11 permanent out of 16 spots.[5] FIBA then announced the launch of a new European basketball club competition,[6] with qualification based only on sporting merit.[7]
In April 2023, the league established the Youth Basketball Champions League (YBCL) for under-18 teams of selected BCL teams.[8]
Format
Tournament
The tournament proper begins with a regular season of 32 teams, divided into four groups. Seeding 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 playoffs in the same season.[9]
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.[9]
Arena rules
Currently, the minimum seating capacity for home arenas of the clubs 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.[10]
Prizes
Trophy
Each year, the winning team is presented with the Basketball Champions League Trophy. The current trophy is 65 cm (26 in) tall and made of sterling silver with 24ct gold plated highlights, weighing 8 kg (18 lb). 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.[11]
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.[12][9] 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.[9]
- 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
| Year | Final | Third and fourth place | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winners | Score | Second place | Third place | Score | Fourth place | |||
| 2016–17 Details |
Canarias |
63–59 |  Banvit |
 Monaco |
91–77 |  Reyer Venezia | ||
| 2017–18 Details |
 AEK |
100–94 | Monaco |
UCAM Murcia |
85–74 |  Ludwigsburg | ||
| 2018–19 Details |
Virtus Bologna |
73–61 | Canarias |
 Antwerp Giants |
72–58 | Bamberg Baskets | ||
| 2019–20 Details |
San Pablo Burgos |
85–74 | AEK |
JDA Dijon |
70–65 | Zaragoza | ||
| 2020–21 Details |
San Pablo Burgos |
64–59 | Karşıyaka |
Zaragoza |
89–77 | SIG Strasbourg | ||
| 2021–22 Details |
Canarias |
98–87 | BAXI Manresa |
Ludwigsburg |
88–68 |  Hapoel Holon | ||
| 2022–23 Details |
Telekom Bonn |
77–70 | Hapoel Jerusalem |
Canarias |
84–79 | Unicaja Málaga | ||
| 2023–24 Details |
Unicaja Málaga |
80–75 | Canarias |
UCAM Murcia |
87–84 | Peristeri | ||
| 2024–25 Details |
Unicaja Málaga |
83–67 | Galatasaray |
AEK |
77–73 | Canarias | ||
Performances by club
A total of 98 clubs from 28 national associations have played in or qualified for the Champions League group stage.
| Club | Winners | Runners-up | Years won | Years runner-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canarias |
2 | 2 | 2017, 2022 | 2019, 2024 |
| San Pablo Burgos |
2 | 0 | 2020, 2021 | – |
| Unicaja Malaga |
2 | 0 | 2024, 2025 | – |
| AEK |
1 | 1 | 2018 | 2020 |
| Virtus Bologna |
1 | 0 | 2019 | – |
| Baskets Bonn |
1 | 0 | 2023 | – |
| Bandırma |
0 | 1 | – | 2017 |
| Monaco |
0 | 1 | – | 2018 |
| Karşıyaka |
0 | 1 | – | 2021 |
| Manresa |
0 | 1 | – | 2022 |
| Hapoel Jerusalem |
0 | 1 | – | 2023 |
| Galatasaray |
0 | 1 | – | 2025 |
Medals (2016–present)
Broadcasting rights
| Country/Region | Broadcaster | Free/Pay | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| International | YouTube (unsold markets only) | Free | |
| LiveBasketball.TV | Pay | ||
| ESPN3 | Pay | [13] | |
| Balkans | Arena Sport | Pay | |
| Alternativna TV | Free | [14] | |
 Austria |
DAZN | Pay | [15][16] |
| Spain[a] | |||
 Switzerland | |||
| Germany |
DYN | Pay | [17] |
 Estonia |
TV3 Group | Free & Pay | [18] |
| France |
Canal+, LNB.TV | Pay | [19][20] |
| Greece |
Cosmote TV | Pay | |
 Hungary |
M4 Sport | Free | |
| Israel |
Sports Channel | Free & Pay | |
| Italy |
Eurosport | Pay | [21] |
 Latvia |
TV3 Group | Free & Pay | [22] |
 Lithuania |
TV3 Group | Free & Pay | |
 Poland |
Canal+ Premium | Pay | [23] |
 Romania |
Look Sport | Free | |
| Turkey |
Tivibu Spor | Free & Pay | [24] |
 Vietnam |
VTVCab |
- Only games of Spanish teams.
Awards
Winning rosters
Youth competition
In January 2023, the BCL launched its under-18 competition named the Youth Basketball Champions League (YBCL).[25] The inaugural season will be hosted in the Turkish city of Bursa and features 10 teams that play in a league format for the championship. The winners of the inaugural season were Igokea.
