European professional club basketball system

The European professional club basketball system or European professional club basketball pyramid is a series of interconnected competitions for professional basketball clubs in Europe. The system has a hierarchical format with a promotion and demotion system between competitions at different levels. There are currently three different competitions on the pyramid – the 1st tier Euroleague, the 2nd tier Eurocup, and the 3rd tier FIBA Europe Cup. The 1st and 2nd tier competitions are organized by Euroleague Basketball Company, and the 3rd tier competition is organized by FIBA Europe.

The tier pyramid

The table below shows the tier structure of the pyramid for both the former FIBA era, and the current Euroleague Basketball era. Current competitions are indicated in green.

Evolution of the European basketball competitions

FIBA Europe

Tier Level	Competition	Years Active
1st Tier	European Champions Cup	1958–1991
	European League	1991–1996
	Euroleague	1996–2000
	SuproLeague	2000–2001
2nd Tier	European Cup Winners' Cup	1966–1991
	European Cup	1991–1996
	EuroCup	1996–1998
	Saporta Cup	1998–2002
3rd Tier	Korać Cup	1971–2002
	Europe League	2003–2005
	EuroCup	2005–2008
	EuroChallenge	2008–2015
	FIBA Europe Cup	2015–present
4th Tier	EuroCup Challenge	2002–2007

Euroleague Basketball

Tier Level	Competition	Years Active
1st Tier	Turkish Airlines Euroleague	2000–present
2nd Tier	Eurocup	2002–present

History

The evolution of the names of the various international European inter–continental and European inter–regional professional club basketball competitions (1990—2015):

1990—1991:
- FIBA European Champions' Cup
- FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup (last season)
- FIBA Korać Cup

1991—1992:
- FIBA European League ("FIBA Euro League") (previously named FIBA European Champions' Cup)
- FIBA European Cup (previously named FIBA European Cup Winners' Cup)
- FIBA Korać Cup

1992—1993:
- FIBA European League ("FIBA Euro League")
- FIBA European Cup
- FIBA Korać Cup

1993—1994:
- FIBA European League ("FIBA Euro League")
- FIBA European Cup
- FIBA Korać Cup

1994—1995:
- FIBA European League ("FIBA Euro League")
- FIBA European Cup
- FIBA Korać Cup

1995—1996:
- FIBA European League ("FIBA Euro League")
- FIBA European Cup (last season)
- FIBA Korać Cup

1996—1997:
- FIBA Euroleague (previously named FIBA European Championship ("FIBA Euro League"))
- FIBA EuroCup (previously named FIBA European Cup)
- FIBA Korać Cup

1997—1998:
- FIBA Euroleague
- FIBA EuroCup (last season)
- FIBA Korać Cup

1998—1999:
- FIBA Euroleague
- FIBA Saporta Cup (previously named EuroCup)
- FIBA Korać Cup

1999—2000:
- FIBA Euroleague (last FIBA Europe–sanctioned season)
- FIBA Saporta Cup
- FIBA Korać Cup

2000—2001:
- Euroleague (first Euroleague Basketball–sanctioned season)
- FIBA SuproLeague (previously known as FIBA Euroleague, when it was still organized by FIBA Europe)
- FIBA Saporta Cup
- FIBA Korać Cup

2001—2002:
- Euroleague (combination of Euroleague Basketball and FIBA SuproLeague)
- FIBA Saporta Cup (last season)
- FIBA Korać Cup (last season)
- Adriatic League (first season)

2002—2003:
- Euroleague
- ULEB Cup (first season)
- FIBA Europe Champions Cup (first season)
- Adriatic League

2003—2004:
- Euroleague
- ULEB Cup
- FIBA Europe League (first season)
- FIBA Europe Cup (previously named FIBA Europe Champions Cup)
- Adriatic League

2004—2005:
- Euroleague
- ULEB Cup
- FIBA Europe League
- FIBA Europe Cup
- Adriatic League
- Baltic League (first season)

2005—2006:
- Euroleague
- ULEB Cup
- FIBA EuroCup (previously named FIBA Europe League)
- FIBA EuroCup Challenge (previously named FIBA Europe Cup)
- Adriatic League
- Baltic League

2006—2007:
- Euroleague
- ULEB Cup
- FIBA EuroCup
- FIBA EuroCup Challenge (last season)
- Adriatic League
- Baltic League

2007—2008:
- Euroleague
- ULEB Cup
- FIBA EuroCup
- Adriatic League
- Baltic League

2008—2009:
- Euroleague
- Eurocup (previously named ULEB Cup)
- FIBA EuroChallenge (previously named FIBA EuroCup)
- Adriatic League
- Balkan International League (first season)
- Baltic League

2009—2010:
- Euroleague
- Eurocup
- FIBA EuroChallenge
- VTB United League (first season)
- Adriatic League
- Balkan International League
- Baltic League

2010—2011:
- Euroleague
- Eurocup
- FIBA EuroChallenge
- VTB United League
- Adriatic League
- Balkan International League
- Baltic League

2011—2012:
- Euroleague
- Eurocup
- FIBA EuroChallenge
- VTB United League
- Adriatic League
- Balkan International League
- Baltic League

2012—2013:
- Euroleague
- Eurocup
- FIBA EuroChallenge
- VTB United League
- Adriatic League
- Balkan International League
- Baltic League

2013—2014:
- Euroleague
- Eurocup
- FIBA EuroChallenge
- VTB United League
- Adriatic League
- Balkan International League
- Baltic League

2014—2015:
- Euroleague
- Eurocup
- FIBA EuroChallenge (last season)
- VTB United League
- Adriatic League
- Balkan International League
- Baltic League

2015—2016:
- Euroleague
- Eurocup
- FIBA Europe Cup
- VTB United League
- Adriatic League
- Balkan International League
- Baltic League

There also have been a few other international club basketball competitions played in Europe, which do not exist anymore. Many others have changed their names multiple times.

References

External links

League systems in sport

League system
Sports league
Professional sports league organization
Division (sport)
Promotion and relegation

Association
football

AFC	Afghanistan Australia Bahrain China East Timor Guam Hong Kong India Indonesia Iran Japan Korea Kuwait Macau Malaysia Mongolia Northern Mariana Islands Pakistan Qatar Saudi Arabia Singapore Thailand Turkmenistan United Arab Emirates Vietnam

CAF	Algeria Burkina Faso Burundi Cape Verde Central African Republic Comoros Djibouti Equatorial Guinea Ghana Guinea-Bissau Ivory Coast Kenya Madagascar Mauritius Morocco Mozambique Nigeria Réunion São Tomé and Príncipe Seychelles Somalia South Africa

CONCACAF	Anguilla Antigua and Barbuda Aruba Bahamas Barbados Belize Bermuda Bonaire British Virgin Islands Canada Cayman Islands Costa Rica Cuba Curaçao Dominican Republic El Salvador French Guiana Guadeloupe Guatemala Haiti Honduras Jamaica Martinique Mexico Montserrat Nicaragua Panama Puerto Rico Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Martin Sint Maarten Trinidad and Tobago Turks and Caicos Islands United States United States Virgin Islands

CONMEBOL	Argentina Bolivia Brazil Chile Colombia Ecuador Paraguay Peru Uruguay Venezuela

OFC	New Zealand Papua New Guinea Tahiti Tuvalu

UEFA	Albania Andorra Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Belarus Belgium Bosnia Bulgaria Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark England (women's) Estonia Faroe Islands Finland France Georgia Germany (women's) Gibraltar Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Israel Italy Kazakhstan Latvia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Macedonia Malta Moldova Montenegro Netherlands Northern Ireland Norway Poland Portugal Romania Russia San Marino Scotland Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden Switzerland Turkey Ukraine Wales

Basketball

Handball

Denmark
Germany
Hungary

Rugby league

Rugby union

Water polo

Hungary

Tennis

Ice Hockey

United States

Cricket

World Cricket League

American
football

Germany

Shinty

Scotland

FIBA European Champions Cup and Euroleague

FIBA European Champions Cup era, 1958–2001

Seasons	1958 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01

Finals	1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001

Euroleague Basketball era, 2000–present

Seasons	2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17

Finals	2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Book:Euroleague
Category:Euroleague
Commons:Euroleague

ULEB Cup and Eurocup

Seasons	2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16

Finals	2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Other	Awards Euroleague Basketball Company Individual statistics MVP of the Week European national league rankings European club basketball pyramid FIBA Korać Cup FIBA Saporta Cup Performance Index Rating

Category:Eurocup Commons:Eurocup

FIBA Europe Cup

Seasons	2015–16

Final Fours	2016

International men's basketball

FIBA National teams Olympics World Cup Universiade U-21 World Championship U-19 World Championship U-17 World Championship World Rankings

Africa	FIBA Africa – AfroBasket U-18 U-16

Americas	FIBA Americas – FIBA Americas Championship U-18 U-16

Asia	FIBA Asia – FIBA Asia Championship U-18 U-16

Europe	FIBA Europe – EuroBasket U-20 U-18 U-16

Oceania	FIBA Oceania – FIBA Oceania Championship U-20 U-18 U-16

Other tournaments	Acropolis Tournament Adecco Cup Albert Schweitzer Tournament All-Africa Games Asian Games Commonwealth Games Belgrade Trophy Diamond Ball FIBA Asia Cup FIBA World Olympic Qualifying Tournament Lusophony Games Marchand Cup Mediterranean Games MVP Cup Stanković Cup Pan American Games Pan Arab Games South Asian Games TBF International Under-16 Tournament William Jones Cup World Cup (Turkey)

Note: The Under-21 Championship is no longer held.

Men's professional basketball leagues

Africa

Americas

Argentina
- 2nd division
Brazil
- LDB
Canada
Chile
Colombia
Cuba
Dominican Republic
Mexico
- CIBACOPA
Paraguay
Puerto Rico
United States & Canada
- D-League
- ABA
- ABL
- APBL
- CBA
- ECBL
- EBA
- IBA
- MBL
- MPBA
- PBL
- TRBL
- UBA
- UBL
Uruguay
Venezuela

Asia

Europe

Oceania

International
tournaments

Africa	African Champions Cup

Americas	Americas League Liga Sudamericana Torneo InterLigas

Asia	Asian Champions Cup ABA Club Championship ASEAN League WABA League

Europe	Euroleague Eurocup FIBA Europe Cup Adriatic League Alpe Adria Cup Balkan League Baltic League VTB United League

Defunct
tournaments

Americas	American Basketball Association (1967-1976) Brazil Campeonato Sudamericano de Clubes Continental Basketball Association International Basketball League (1999–2001) United States Basketball League World Basketball Association

Asia	Japan

Europe	SuproLeague Saporta Cup Korać Cup EuroCup Challenge EuroChallenge Central European League North European League Czechoslovakia England Russia Serbia and Montenegro Spain Soviet Union Yugoslavia 2nd division

Category

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