For several years, European football has used ever more innovative means to modernize its landscape. The football super league is the perfect example. This project was aimed at creating an American -closed European competition with the richest and popular clubs in Europe, without promotion or relegation. The founding teams included clubs like Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, ​​Juventus, and other big names. The idea was to compete with the Champions League, but by creating a league with guaranteed matches between the biggest clubs. The project was announced in April 2021, but quickly sparked lively opposition from fans, the governing bodies of football (such as UEFA and FIFA) and governments. Following this pressure, several clubs abandoned the idea, and the project was suspended, although it was not completely abandoned. Founding clubs hoped to generate considerable income through higher television rights, sponsorship agreements and additional commercial revenue. By reducing dependence on national competitions and guaranteeing matches between the best teams, the Super League aimed to maximize its income. Without talking about Super League, UEFA and FIFA could turn to the NBA to bail out their boxes by participating in the creation of the NBA Europe, the future potential competitor of the Euroleague (largest European basketball competition, equivalent at the Champions League).
“”Reading comments on another league in Europe makes no sense in my opinion. We already have four different leagues. As an European, we have the best possible product. I do not think that it is something that should not be valued, understood and appreciated, because what the clubs and the league have achieved in 25 years is incredible. I understand the approach of the NBA and I measure its importance, it is the first basketball league in the world. It is obvious that everyone wants to listen to the NBA or see what it can offer. But having five leagues (would mean) that fans are forgotten. You turn on the television and you do not know which team played against which competition. Again, it is difficult to understand. If we think of the NBA, the Fiba and the Euroleague, we have to protect basketball, compete with other sports and develop the game. I understand the desire to expand and come and play NBA matches. But we must, together, protect basketball and if we are in competition with each other, other sports are growing; they become better than us“Said Paulius Motiejunas, the boss of the Euroleague. However, the NBA led by Adam Silver continues to make significant steps in the project.
The innovative idea proposed by Adam Silver
Although many details remain vague, the list of teams targeted by the NBA begins to take shape within the framework of the negotiations. NBA projects in Europe mainly target financially strong European markets, favoring economic power compared to existing basketball fans based on the major football stables. The jewel of the European basketball crown, Real Madrid, is the main target of the NBA among European organizations. President Florentino Perez had already hesitated to engage in a new 10 -year agreement with the Euroleague, leaving the door open to a possible passage in the NBA Europe. If Casa Blanca was to take the plunge, FC Barcelona would be considered the most likely candidate to join the team as the second Spanish representative: “While Europe continues to train some of the best players in the world – many of our most recent MVPs are of course European – we believe that commercial opportunities have not followed the rate of game growth. And what we do At the NBA, it is to manage leagues. We manage the WNBA of course, we have Basketball Africa League, we have the G League, we have a 2K video league. We therefore manage five different leagues and we think it is an expertise that we have. We are therefore studying very closely to see if there is an opportunity to professionalize the game at another level here to create a more important commercial opportunity“Said Adam Silver at a press conference in Paris. On the French market, American sources indicate that the main target of the NBA remains Paris Saint-Germain which wishes to relaunch its basketball team. PSG had already managed a basketball team in the 1990s, but its greatest breakthrough took place in 2018 when it has teamed up with Jordan Brand, incorporating the Jumpman logo into its kits and derivatives.
The NBA also wishes to set up a franchise in England, and more precisely in Manchester. Some sources suggest that Manchester City could be the club that the NBA wishes to see a basketball team. The contribution of Liverpool, which has legend Lebron James in its minority properties, is not to be underestimated in the project. The link between the Cityzens and the Parisians is important according to the NBA: the two clubs are supported by investors from the Middle East. Manchester City is controlled by the sheikh mansour bin zayed al nahyan, while PSG belongs to Qatar Sports Investments, linked to the Qatari government. The NBA therefore sees it as a great way to continue its development in the Middle East while the American League has already been organizing matches in Abu Dhabi for a few years now. The Italian market also interests the NBA which should contact AC Milan and Inter Milan to gauge the feasibility of the project. Germany is another key country in the expansion plans of the NBA in Europe, with two places reserved for the Germans. Sources indicate that the NBA, with the support of Bayern, could put pressure to create a brand new basketball team in Munich who would play in a newly built room. In total, the NBA Europe envisages a structure at 10 teams, strongly emphasizing the generation of income via arenas and media rights. The League could be fed by funds from the next NBA media rights agreement, which should take effect from the 2025-26 season. The 11 -year agreement is estimated at around 76 billion dollars, thus creating a financial basis for expansion.
The NBA commissioner Adam Silver must still convince the 30 owners of the NBA to approve the project. One of the concerns of the owners, as pointed out Espnis that the other international leagues in the NBA are not systematically profitable. However, Espn reports that the European League could generate significant income thanks to expansion costs. NBA leaders were in Paris last January, on the occasion of the two NBA Paris Games, to meet potential teams, media partners and sponsors, which testifies to an aggressive desire to advance the project: “Our plan from the start was to spend time here last summer, when we were there for the Olympic Games, to keep a series of meetings, and we were there for about two weeks to watch the basketball ourselves. We will come back, will do some additional work, knowing that we would be here this week in January to organize a series of meetings here and take advantage of this opportunity. We have a meeting of the Board of Directors of the NBA at the end of March, we will take stock with our bosses, in substance. The meeting content was very positive. There is no opposition to anyone or any other organization“Said Adam Silver. The hope is to launch the competition in 2026.
An impact in the football landscape
This is the whole question that interests us. The benefits of such a partnership with the NBA may seem thin for the FIFA of Gianni Infantino and the UEFA of Aleksander ÄŤeferin: “I am still quite surprised because I know that the NBA had already approached Euroleague teams like Paris Basket and Real Madrid in particular. And seeing her get closer to already established football sections, it surprises me, but half. Sportingly, it doesn't really make sense to that, except that there is already a legendary and frankly side, because that's how we talk to the established NBA, so with Manchester City, with PSG , they are already more or less historic established football clubs, so it does not surprise me because it is a marketing aspect above all. But on the other hand sportingly it surprises me enormously because it is surprising to see the NBA want to create something almost any piece rather than establishing a partnership which would in my opinion be more logical sportingly for passionate of basketball», Explains Enzo Derrick, influencer and founder of the account Lockedin on social network X.
It is obvious that European football would win a blatant boost marketing on the American market. Between the development of the MLS and the future World Cup in the United States, the great stables of Europe still hope to set up in the country of Uncle Sam and its neighbors: “I think it's really purely marketing. Being coach at the Stade Français, I know that from what I have been told, we often asked PSG, because we train just in front of the Parc des Princes, partnerships or things like that, they have never given positive answers. PSG Basketball has already existed without going out, so I think it is not their primary interest in developing basketball. On the other hand, I think that in terms of marketing, visibility and all that, I think yes, it can be a huge boost, it can really be something beneficial for the club. Sportingly, I doubt it, the same for Manchester City, knowing that in addition, in England, basketball, even if it starts a little to develop, it is very lean and besides, it is a A market that Adam Silver will seek to develop, since it seems to me that he will have the NBA Manchester Game next year, it is in the boxes. I think that Adam Silver wants to develop his European market using the performance of the clubs that I have installed and I think the clubs will just take a little bit of bread and without investing too much about this that I see“, Continues Enzo Derrick, also coach of the male U11 team and the women's female team at Stade Français Basket.
“”When we examine this opportunity and these potential partners, what they tell us is that they think that from a commercial point of view, in terms of networks they represent or of which they are part, or companies of consumption they represent, they think that there is a desire to connect with consumers, in particular young consumers, who are generally the basis of NBA fans, and that they think that the market is ready to do more in this sport». As part of this effort, the NBA seems ready to plan NBA matches in different regions of Europe. After playing regular season games in Paris in the past three years and in London before the Pandemic, the League has started discussions on the possibility of playing regular season games in new places such as Manchester, England and Berlin in the near future, where possible expansion teams for a European league could be established. Beautiful posters that have always seen the best football players sit down and enjoy the show offered by the NBA. The links between the actors of FIFA and the NBA are much narrower than one might think at first.
