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The civil war engulfing British Basketball has intensified with the British Basketball Federation attempting to block four of the country’s leading clubs from competing in Europe next season.
The Guardian has learned that the BBF is refusing to endorse applications for European places made by Manchester Basketball, London Lions, Newcastle Eagles and Bristol Flyers, which has put their participation at risk.
In another development, it is being claimed that the BBF is threatening to thwart visa applications for overseas players for next season made by a number of Super League Basketball clubs.
The BBF and clubs are at loggerheads after the governing body last month awarded a 15-year licence to operate a new Great Britain Basketball League from the 2026-27 season to an American consortium led by the former NBA executive Marshall Glickman. The nine existing SLB clubs are refusing to join, and have had their interim licence to run their own league next season suspended by the BBF.
In an attempt to resolve matters it is understood that the BBF last week offered the SLB another 12-month licence that would enable the league to operate next season, a proposal that was rejected by the clubs.
The BBF’s position is that as the SLB is operating without a licence it cannot endorse applications to join competitions organised by the Federation of International Basketball Associations, as doing so would jeopardise their own position.
The BBF has informed Manchester that their application to join Europe’s premier competition, the Basketball Champions League, would not be endorsed and the club have now missed the deadline to register.
An email from the BBF to Manchester sent earlier this week read: “As Fiba’s national member federation, the BBF will only endorse clubs competing in our officially sanctioned national championship competitions. Since notification of termination of the licence held by Super League Basketball Ltd has been issued, Manchester does not currently meet this requirement for the 2025-26 season. We are therefore unable to consider endorsement at this time.”
Manchester are exploring legal action on the grounds of restraint of trade, while the BBF also faces the threat of being sued by the other clubs over the GBBL licensing process. The other SLB clubs are believed to be united in their support for Manchester.
The BBF has also made it clear that it will not back the Lions’ bid to join Europe’s second-tier competition, the EuroCup. In addition, the governing body is not supporting attempts by the Eagles and the Flyers to join the European North Basketball League. Those competitions are not organised by Fiba, however, so it is unclear at this stage whether the BBF can block them.
The BBF rejects claims that it is blocking visa applications, an allegation the federation regards as symptomatic of the entitlement of certain clubs. As the sport’s governing body the BBF is charged with submitting governing body endorsements for potential overseas signings to the Home Office, and feels it is unable to do so for unlicensed clubs. The BBF declined to comment.
A spokesperson for the London Lions told The Guardian: “The London Lions stand unequivocally for the principle that British clubs should have the freedom to pursue excellence wherever it exists, to grow the game on the biggest stages.
“We hope that the decision to keep Manchester Basketball Club out of Basketball Champions League is reversed, which will allow growth of professional basketball in the UK, providing opportunities for British athletes, coaches, and clubs to compete at the highest level.”
