The teams that will participate in the 2010/11 Euroleague

The Euroleague Commercial Assets (ECA) board members met Wednesday in Barcelona to prepare for the General Assembly that will take place on July, 7 in Barcelona, a day before the Euroleague Draw. The meeting began with a brief review of the 2009-10 season, where all present agreed that the season offered a very high sporting standard that allowed fans to enjoy very entertaining and tense games. Board members were presented with the evolution of the television distribution this season, which broke records by reaching up to 197 countries, as well as a review of the overall results from this year's Final Four, which has been considered by all as one of the best such events in terms of organization, attendance and sponsorship acquisition.

ECA board members agreed that it was necessary to continue working and moving forward with initiatives to be able to continue growing basketball and to push through the current economic crisis. Euroleague presented the end-of-year budget as well as new proposals to enhance the commercial attractiveness of the competition and the value of the company. Representatives of the clubs at the meeting discussed ways of protecting the competition through the implementation of common accounting regulations and by ensuring that participating clubs are able to financially withstand the expense needed to complete the season.

Board members present were able to evaluate and discuss new proposals to improve the quality, distribution and commercialization of the competition, offering sponsors an increasingly global and high quality product, through a Game of the Week concept. This platform would allow for Euroleague to have a pre-selected game to be specially produced with additional highlights, higher production quality and English commentary for increased commercial possibilities.

Finally, representatives were presented modifications in the competition By Laws, the calendar for the 2010-11 season, as well as the new seeding system for the Euroleague regular season draw, which will be held on July 8 in Barcelona. The new system relies on a global ranking of all clubs based on their performances in the Euroleague and the Eurocup over the last three seasons.

The teams that will participate in the 2010-11 Euroleague and Eurocup seasons were also presented at the Board meeting. A total of 22 teams are pre-qualified to the Euroleague regular season: 13 with long-term A Licenses, 8 teams with one-year B Licenses and 1 with a one-year C License. Another 16 teams will play in the newly-expanded Euroleague Qualification Rounds in the fall. Two survivors from the qualification rounds will join the Euroleague regular season with one-year B Licenses. The other 14 qualification teams will play in the 2010-11 Eurocup regular season.

All proposals are pending definitive approval from the Euroleague General Assembly.



REGULAR SEASON 
 

Armani Jeans Milano Italy Finalist B
Asseco Prokom Gdynia Poland Champion B
Brose Baskets Germany Champion B
Caja Laboral Spain Champion A
Cholet Basket France Champion B
CSKA Moscow Russia Champion A
Efes Pilsen Istanbul Turkey Finalist A
Fenerbahce Ulker Istanbul Turkey Champion A
KK Cibona Zagreb Croatia Champion B
Lietuvos Rytas Lithuania Champion B
Lottomatica Roma Italy Semifinalist A
Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv Israel Finalist A
Montepaschi Siena Italy Champion A
Olympiacos Piraeus Greece Finalist A
Panathinaikos Athens Greece Champion A
Partizan Balgrade Serbia Champion B
Power Electronics Valencia Spain Eurocup Champion C
Real Madrid Spain Semifinalist A
Regal FC Barcelona Spain Finalist A
Unicaja Spain Semifinalist A
Union Olimpija Ljubljana Slovenia Finalist B
Zalgiris Kaunas Lithuania Finalist A
Winner of Qualifying Rounds      
Winner of Qualifying Rounds       

QUALIFYING ROUNDS
 

Asvel Basket Lyon Villeurbanne * France Regular Season
BC Khimki Moscow Region Russia Finalist
Unics Kazan Russia Semifinalist
KK Hemofarm Stada Serbia Finalist
CEZ Basketball Nymburk Czech Republic Champion
Budivelnyk *
 Ukraine Finalist
Le Mans Sarthe Basket France Finalist
Hapoel Galil Gilboa Israel Champion
Maroussi BC Greece Semifinalist
Spirou Basket Belgium Champion
Alba Berlin * Germany Quarterfinalist
Pepsi Caserta Italy Semifinalist
KK Buducnost Montenegro Champion
Chorale Roanne Basket France Semifinalist
Barons/LMT Riga Latvia Champion
Gasterra Flames Groningen Netherlands Champion