Mediterranean Basketball Association
The Mediterranean Basketball Association (MBA), is a proposed supranational championship between Eurasian professional basketball leagues, mainly centered around the Mediterranean Sea region. The proposed league is currently slated to have between 15-16 teams from 8-9 different countries, from both Europe and Asia in its inaugural season. Countries with teams currently slated to participate in the proposed league's inaugural season include: Bulgaria, Cyprus, Greece, Lebanon, Serbia, Turkey, Israel, and Qatar. There are also plans to include teams from Italy in the competition.
Al Jazeera has expressed the desire to obtain broadcast rights for the league.
Format
The proposed league is backed and sponsored by a group of wealthy investors from Qatar, by the Hellenic Basketball Federation, by FIBA Asia, and by some of the biggest and richest basketball clubs in Europe and Asia, as well as the sponsors of those clubs. Such as: Panathinaikos Athens, Olympiacos Piraeus, Fenerbahçe Ülker İstanbul, Efes Pilsen İstanbul, and Maccabi Tel Aviv. The proposed league would be governed by the Hellenic Basketball Federation and FIBA Asia, and commissioned by George Vassilakopoulos, the former head of FIBA Europe, and by Sheikh Saud Bin Ali Al-Thani, the head of FIBA Asia.
The proposed league has currently opted for a promotion and relegation model, and with the participating teams only playing in their national domestic leagues at the playoff stage and still playing in their national domestic cup competitions. This format is modeled after the NLB Adriatic League. League operations are currently proposed to begin in October 2011.
Teams
Teams that are currently slated to participate in the inaugural season of the MBA include:
Country |
Places |
Teams |
|---|---|---|
Greece (HEBA A1) |
4 |
bgcolor=| Panathinaikos Athens (1) |
bgcolor=| Turkey (TBL) |
4 |
bgcolor=| Fenerbahçe Ülker İstanbul (1) |
bgcolor=| Israel (BSL) |
2 |
bgcolor=| Maccabi Tel Aviv (2) |
bgcolor=| Serbia (A League) |
1 |
bgcolor=| Partizan Belgrade (1) |
bgcolor=| Bulgaria (NBL) |
1 |
bgcolor=| Lukoil Academic Sofia (1) |
bgcolor=| Cyprus (Division A) |
1 |
bgcolor=| League Champions |
bgcolor=| Lebanon (Division A) |
1 |
bgcolor=| League Champions |
bgcolor=| Qatar (Division 1) |
1 |
bgcolor=| League Champions |
See also
- Euroleague Basketball
- Eurocup Basketball
- VTB United League
- NLB Adriatic League