EuroLeague recently published an extensive report confirming that 11 clubs have passed the first stage of the process for obtaining franchise status. Those 11 clubs are PAOK, Partizan, Crvena zvezda, Dubai, Valencia, Roma Maxima, Hapoel Tel Aviv, Napoli Basket, London Lions, Paris and Virtus Bologna. As EuroLeague had previously stated, four additional bids are currently on hold.
That means the Greek giant from Thessaloniki, as well as two Belgrade rivals, the reigning ABA League champion and the other seven clubs have cleared the first filter and will now move on to the next stage of the process. That step involves submitting binding offers, with the total value of the franchise fees approaching €700 million. Estimates suggest that total investment over the next five years could exceed €3 billion, or more precisely €3.2 billion.
Before officially opening the process at the beginning of July, EuroLeague received more than 20 formal expressions of interest and proposals. They came from existing clubs competing in EuroLeague and EuroCup, but also from new investment projects seeking to become part of the competition’s new format.
Partizan president Ostoja Mijailović also addressed the development and confirmed that the final decision on which clubs will receive franchise status is expected by the end of September.
“Partizan Basketball Club was selected at today’s EuroLeague board meeting as one of 11 teams that have entered the final process of becoming a franchise. The final decision will be made at the end of September, when the Board of Owners will vote on which clubs will become franchises starting with the 2027/28 season. The job is not finished, but we are on the right track,” Mijailović wrote on social media.
The end of September should therefore bring clarity on two key parts of the process. A decision is expected on the final transition to the new model, while EuroLeague should also determine how many clubs will be included in the first stage of the expansion and which teams will receive those places for the 2027/28 season.
For PAOK, Partizan, Crvena zvezda and the other eight clubs that have made it through the opening stage, passing the first filter does not yet guarantee franchise status. It does, however, move them into the decisive phase of a process that EuroLeague formally launched after receiving interest from more than 20 potential participants.
The financial scale of that process is significant. With franchise fees for the clubs that ultimately enter the new structure valued at close to €700 million in total, and projected investment over the following five years estimated at more than €3.2 billion, the next round will determine which of the remaining candidates are prepared to make the required binding commitments.
For now, the field has been reduced to 11 active candidates, with four more bids still on hold. The next major step comes at the end of September, when the Board of Owners is expected to vote and define the group that will enter the first phase of EuroLeague’s expansion from the 2027/28 season.
