26 January, 2021
25 April
23/11/2020
Press Release
to read

Changes made to FIBA Europe Cup 2020-21 season format

MUNICH (Germany) - After taking into consideration the epidemiological situation in Europe and having consulted with the stakeholders of the competition, format changes approved by the FIBA Europe Board in September will be implemented for the 2020-21 FIBA Europe Cup season.

In order to protect the health and guarantee the safety of players, coaches and officials, but also to safeguard a fair competition, and to properly organize game operations, the decision has been taken to organize the competition in hubs with a modified format.

In view of three clubs with FIBA Europe Cup opt-ins – Bakken Bears, Keravnos and Tsmoki Minsk – qualifying for the Basketball Champions League Regular Season, as well as the withdrawal of Mornar Bar, a decision has been made to restructure the 24 remaining clubs into six groups of four clubs each.

In order to do so, the teams from Group G will be placed into the available spots in Groups B, D and F based on the seedings prior to the Draw and the applicable country restrictions.

The new groups are as follows:

Taking into consideration the feedback of the clubs and the respective National Federations, the following modifications regard the dates and the competition system will be implemented:

  • Regular Season to be played in single venue hubs in single round-robin format from January 26-29, 2021.
  • The top two clubs from each Regular Season group, plus the four best 3rd placed clubs, to advance to the Round of 16.
  • The Round of 16 pairings to be determined by a draw, with all six group winners and the two best 2nd placed clubs seeded and the other qualified teams not seeded; clubs from the same Regular Season group cannot be drawn against each other.
  • Round of 16 and Quarter-Finals to be played in single elimination games in four single venue hubs of four teams each, as per the Play-Off bracket, from March 23-25, 2021.
  • Final Four to be played in a single venue hub from April 23-25, 2021.

The coronavirus protocols that will be adopted for the hubs have been developed by the FIBA Medical Commission after consultation with the World Health Organization.

The hosts of the Regular Season hubs will be announced at a later time.

FIBA will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation in Europe and communicate any further updates regarding its competitions if necessary.