ULEB was founded in 1991, with the aim to help in the cooperation and development of
EuropeanEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
professional club
basketballBasketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
leagues. Its headquarters are located in
BarcelonaBarcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
,
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
History
ULEB was founded in June 1991 by the top professional basketball leagues of
FranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
(
LNBThe Ligue National de Basket is the top men's French professional basketball league. There are two divisions: French Pro A League and French Pro B League .-Pro A:...
),
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
(LEGA) and
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
(ACB), which were then joined in 1996 by HEBA (
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
). In 1999, the
BLBThe Basketball League Belgium , also known as the Ligue Ethias or Ethias League, is the highest professional basketball league in Belgium.-Teams:* Antwerp Giants* Belgacom Liège Basket* Dexia Mons-Hainaut* Generali Okapi Aalstar...
(
BelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
),
BBLThe British Basketball League, often abbreviated to the BBL, is the premier men's professional basketball league in the United Kingdom. The BBL runs two knockout competitions alongside the league championship; the BBL Cup and the BBL Trophy....
(
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
) and LNBA (
SwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
) were added.
The group then expanded with the
BBLThe Basketball Bundesliga — commonly abbreviated BBL — is the highest level league of club basketball in Germany. The league comprises 18 teams. A BBL season is split into a league stage and a playoff stage...
of
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
,
DBLThe Dutch Basketball League , is the highest professional basketball league in the Netherlands. The league has a closed system...
(
NetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
; then known by the Dutch initialism FEB), and PLK (
PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
) in 2001. The ABA (Adriatic League) was added in February 2002, while October 2002 brought in the
ABLThe Österreichische Basketball Bundesliga is the top men's professional basketball league in Austria. Until the 2004–05 season, the league was known as the A-Liga and then until the 2008–09 season it was called the Österreichische Basketball Bundesliga...
(
AustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
). Following that, in June 2003, came the membership of the
LKLThe Lietuvos krepšinio lyga is Lithuania's premier professional men's basketball league, composed of 12 teams.- History :...
(
LithuaniaLithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
), then the 2004 membership of the
NBLThe Czech Republic National Basketball League , also called the Mattoni NBL for sponsorship reasons, is the top level professional basketball league in the Czech Republic. The league operates under a promotion and relegation system. The bottom two NBL teams from each season's standings are...
(
Czech RepublicThe Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
), and in July 2005, the BSL of
IsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
joined the ULEB. In 2011, the
PBL of
RussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
also became a member.
In 2000, ULEB decided to break away from
FIBA EuropeFIBA Europe is a zone within the International Basketball Federation which includes all 49 national European basketball federations.-Division A:-Division B: -Division C:...
and begin the new
EuroleagueEuroleague Basketball, commonly known as the Euroleague, is the highest level tier and most important professional club basketball competition in Europe, with teams from up to 18 different countries, members of FIBA Europe. For sponsorship reasons, for five seasons starting with 2010–2011, it is...
competition with the
Euroleague 2000-01The inaugural Euroleague season 2000-01 under the new ULEB authority started on October 16, 2000 with a regular season game between hosts Real Madrid and Olympiacos at the Raimundo Saporta Pavilion in Madrid, Spain, and ended with the championship finals game on May 10, 2001, at the PalaMalaguti...
season. That first season of the Euroleague featured a five-game series final (instead of the traditional one-game final), but that was dropped after one year. FIBA that same year also formed its own league, called the
SuproLeagueFIBA SuproLeague was the FIBA professional club basketball Champions' Cup for the 2000-01 season. Up until that season, there was one cup, the FIBA European Champions' Cup , though in this season of 2000-01, the leading European teams split into two competitions: the FIBA SuproLeague and the ULEB's...
, but after just one year it was dissolved as the new ULEB Euroleague became the accepted new top tournament in
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. The
Korać CupThe Korać Cup was an annual basketball club competition held by FIBA between the 1971-72 and 2001-02 seasons. It was the third-tier level club competition in European basketball, after the European Champions' Cup and the Cup Winners' Cup...
and
Saporta CupSaporta Cup was the name of the second-tier level European professional club basketball competition, where the National Cup winners from all over Europe played against each other. The competition was organized by FIBA Europe...
tournaments were also dissolved and joined into a new ULEB tournament originally called the ULEB Cup, and now known as the Eurocup. The ULEB has had only two Presidents since its inception. Gianluigi Porelli of
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, between 1991-1998, and the current one, Eduardo Portela of
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, since 1998.
Rules changes
ULEB also broke away from the
FIBAThe International Basketball Federation, more commonly known as FIBA , from its French name Fédération Internationale de Basketball, is an association of national organizations which governs international competition in basketball...
and adopted rules closer to the
NBAThe National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
, with the NBA's
jump ballA jump ball is a method used to begin or resume play in basketball. It is similar to a face-off in ice hockey or ball-up in Australian rules football...
and 24-second rules being the first to be adopted, in 2002 and 2003, respectively. The hope was the ULEB would play with rules which would favor players and spectators, which the FIBA did not feature.
In 2004, ULEB adopted more rule changes which made their game similar to the NBA. The jump ball rule, which was the NBA rule, would remain similar to the NBA (no possession arrow, unlike FIBA), and NBA-type rules regarding position of the ball in the final two minutes following a time out (center line) and block and charge fouls within 1.22 metres (4') within the basket were added. LEGA A also adopted an instant replay rule which led to the championship being decided by instant replay as a field goal made in the final second of the game which determined if a team had won or had been forced to a deciding game had to be reviewed for minutes by officials.
For 2005, FIBA decided to make the Euroleague part of the FIBA championships, FIBA rules replaced the NBA-type rules, eliminating the jump ball and block-charge arc. FIBA since then reintroduced the block-charge arc effective in 2010 for international competition and no later than 2012 for domestic leagues; at the same time, the trapezoidal free-throw lane historically used by FIBA was replaced by the rectangular area used in the NBA.
16 ULEB league members
{
class="wikitable sortable" |
| Country(ies) | Domestic League /
Regional League | Membership Year |
 SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
|
ACB |
1991 |
 ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
|
LEGA |
1991 |
 FranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
|
LNB The Ligue National de Basket is the top men's French professional basketball league. There are two divisions: French Pro A League and French Pro B League .-Pro A:...
|
1991 |
 GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
|
HEBA |
1996 |
 United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
|
BBLThe British Basketball League, often abbreviated to the BBL, is the premier men's professional basketball league in the United Kingdom. The BBL runs two knockout competitions alongside the league championship; the BBL Cup and the BBL Trophy....
|
1999 |
 BelgiumBelgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
|
BLB The Basketball League Belgium , also known as the Ligue Ethias or Ethias League, is the highest professional basketball league in Belgium.-Teams:* Antwerp Giants* Belgacom Liège Basket* Dexia Mons-Hainaut* Generali Okapi Aalstar...
|
1999 |
 SwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
|
LNBA Ligue Nationale de Basketball A ' is the top professional basketball league in Switzerland. The national league is divided into two divisions, the A and the B, with a system of promotion and relegation between them.- League A Teams :...
|
1999 |
 GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
|
BBL The Basketball Bundesliga — commonly abbreviated BBL — is the highest level league of club basketball in Germany. The league comprises 18 teams. A BBL season is split into a league stage and a playoff stage...
|
2001 |
 PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
|
PLK |
2001 |
 NetherlandsThe Netherlands is a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, located mainly in North-West Europe and with several islands in the Caribbean. Mainland Netherlands borders the North Sea to the north and west, Belgium to the south, and Germany to the east, and shares maritime borders...
|
DBL The Dutch Basketball League , is the highest professional basketball league in the Netherlands. The league has a closed system...
|
2001 |
 Bosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
 CroatiaCroatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
 MontenegroMontenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
 SerbiaSerbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
 SloveniaSlovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
As One Single League Member |
ABA
Adriatic Regional League |
2002 |
 AustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
|
ABL The Österreichische Basketball Bundesliga is the top men's professional basketball league in Austria. Until the 2004–05 season, the league was known as the A-Liga and then until the 2008–09 season it was called the Österreichische Basketball Bundesliga...
|
2002 |
 LithuaniaLithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the biggest of the three Baltic states. It is situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, whereby to the west lie Sweden and Denmark...
|
LKL The Lietuvos krepšinio lyga is Lithuania's premier professional men's basketball league, composed of 12 teams.- History :...
|
2003 |
 Czech RepublicThe Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
|
NBL The Czech Republic National Basketball League , also called the Mattoni NBL for sponsorship reasons, is the top level professional basketball league in the Czech Republic. The league operates under a promotion and relegation system. The bottom two NBL teams from each season's standings are...
|
2004 |
 IsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
|
BSL |
2005 |
 RussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
|
PBL |
2011 |
ULEB Executive Committee members
{
class="wikitable sortable" |
| Executive Committee Members | Domestic League /
Regional League |
Eduardo Portela
(President of ULEB and ACB) |
ACB |
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
|
ACB |
Bosnia and HerzegovinaBosnia and Herzegovina , sometimes called Bosnia-Herzegovina or simply Bosnia, is a country in Southern Europe, on the Balkan Peninsula. Bordered by Croatia to the north, west and south, Serbia to the east, and Montenegro to the southeast, Bosnia and Herzegovina is almost landlocked, except for the...
CroatiaCroatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
MontenegroMontenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...
SerbiaSerbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
SloveniaSlovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central and Southeastern Europe touching the Alps and bordering the Mediterranean. Slovenia borders Italy to the west, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north, and also has a small portion of...
As One Single Committee Member |
ABA
Adriatic Regional League |
ItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
|
LEGA |
GreeceGreece , officially the Hellenic Republic , and historically Hellas or the Republic of Greece in English, is a country in southeastern Europe....
|
HEBA |
FranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
|
LNB The Ligue National de Basket is the top men's French professional basketball league. There are two divisions: French Pro A League and French Pro B League .-Pro A:...
|
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
|
BBL The Basketball Bundesliga — commonly abbreviated BBL — is the highest level league of club basketball in Germany. The league comprises 18 teams. A BBL season is split into a league stage and a playoff stage...
|
See also
- Euroleague
- Eurocup
- ULEB League Rankings
The ULEB League Rankings are the rankings for each of the different European regional and domestic basketball leagues of the countries that participate in Europe's international continental professional basketball competitions that are held under the ULEB zone umbrella, such as the Euroleague and...
- 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...
External links