EuroLeague Confirms 24 Clubs, Red Star and Partizan Miss Out

Months of speculation are over. EuroLeague’s Board of Directors has officially confirmed what had been circulating in league circles since summer: the competition expands from its current 20 clubs to 24, with the names of all new members due by the end of September.

“The Board of Directors received an update after the successful completion of the first round of the franchise application process,” EuroLeague said in a statement, noting that the process officially launched in July 2026 and aims to award up to eight new long term franchises for the 2027/28 season.

Who Holds a Licence and Who Doesn’t?

Thirteen clubs still hold licence owner status: Panathinaikos, Olympiacos, Fenerbahce, Efes, Maccabi Tel Aviv, CSKA Moscow, Olimpia Milano, Zalgiris, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Baskonia, ASVEL and Bayern Munich. Red Star and Partizan are not on that list. For both Serbian clubs, that means a place in the expanded league has to be earned through the competition for eight new franchises, the same as for every other candidate.

How many of those eight spots will be handed out by invitation or secured through the EuroCup is something sources do not fully agree on. Sputnik and Tanjug report that three or four clubs could receive a special invitation or a EuroCup route, depending on whether CSKA Moscow returns to the competition next season for the first time since 2022. Sportklub, writing back in July when the process had just opened, reported two guaranteed spots for EuroCup clubs, with the possibility of additional special invitations if needed. There is also mention of a newly formed club from Abu Dhabi, which could seek its way in precisely through the EuroCup and the ABA League.

The Money Behind the Expansion

Figures EuroLeague laid out in its statement:

• the franchise fee for the eleven candidates already accepted totals almost 700 million euros combined
• total expected investment over the next five years exceeds 3.2 billion euros
• the goal is for the league’s own value to reach 4.3 billion euros by 2027
• the strategic plan also targets growing the value of EuroLeague’s business to 2.5 billion euros within three seasons

Of the eleven candidates who passed the first phase and moved into the binding offer stage, four proposals are still pending. In total, EuroLeague says the process has drawn more than twenty formal expressions of interest, from existing EuroLeague and EuroCup clubs as well as new investment projects.

What Was Known Before This Announcement

When the process officially opened in July, Sportklub reported that more than 20 official bids worth a combined 1.2 billion euros had come in by then, with interest from Rome, Berlin and London. The same outlet also reported the domestic math at the time: Red Star and Partizan would each need to secure 50 million euros for a franchise. Alongside admitting new clubs, the existing thirteen shareholder licences are being converted into long term franchises, a process due to be completed during the 2026/27 season.

EuroLeague’s executive director, Cus Bueno, explained in July where that momentum comes from:

“Our strategic plan, which the Board of Directors adopted when I took office in February, is being successfully implemented, and we are extremely pleased with the progress we are making. European basketball is going through an extraordinary period. Investor interest is growing week by week, confirming just how big an opportunity we have to further accelerate the growth of our sport and our competition.”

He said that back when the process was just getting under way. Now, a month and a half later, the Board of Directors has backed up those words with a concrete number of accepted candidates.

What Happens Next

The second phase brings a more thorough review of each of the eleven accepted proposals. Final recommendations go to an owners’ meeting scheduled for the end of September 2026, where final approval will also be decided. Until then, Red Star and Partizan know exactly where they stand. They remain in the league, but a place among the new eight franchises is still theirs to earn.