“We’re here to stay”: BCL’s past, present and future in an exclusive interview with Patrick Comninos

One of the history of this strange summer for European basketball has undoubtedly been the rise of Basketball Champions League, able to convince more and more clubs to join its ranks and prefer the FIBA-led competition to Eurocup and eventually Euroleague. Since its launch in August 2016, the man at the helm has been Patrick Comninos, a Greek manager who has also served as Athens 2004’s Director of Football, CEO for Greece’s football Superleague and Head of Club Operations for UEFA.

Earlier this week, Mr Comninos has spoken at length with Sportando, discussing a wide range of topics related to the Basketball Champions League vision for European club competition.

The conversation is hereby presented into chapter, to facilitate its reading.

Part I (page 2) -> A lookback on BCL’s first 4 seasons and the Leagues role in shaping the competition.

Part II (page 3) -> The Multi-year agreements with clubs based on sporting criteria

Part III (page 4) -> The plans for current and next season, and the importance of Qualification Rounds

Part IV (page 5) -> Variety and continuity of teams

Part V (page 6) -> Chances for investments and the importance of Social Media

Part VI (page 7) -> Short, middle and long term vision for BCL.