Dubai will descend on European basketball this season. After months of rumors, destinations and landing places, the United Arab Emirates team will play in the Adriatic League, the ABA, this season. Neither Euroleague nor Eurocup. Only in the Balkan competition where he debuted on September 20 against Red Star.
“At the moment we are in the Adriatic League. This is the one with a business vision, future and expansion. All the games between Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, where Dubai is located. With the games in NBA and the 2027 FIBA World Cup, basketball is also here. The only thing missing is the Euroleague. They may be very intelligent or…”said Dejan Kamenjasevic, general director, of Ivan Benito from El Correo.
With a budget of 4 million euros, of which 3.3 million were spent, the former Bosnian player (Baskonia, etc.) defended the project of the club in the Middle East. He assured that this is a “different project” than other Arab fortunes or even the states of the region have done with football clubs like the French PSG or the English Manchester City. “We had twenty opportunities to buy teams from the EuroLeague or the ABA League and we didn’t do it. We are not like PSG or City in football. We could have created a basketball league in Dubai and signed the best players like Saudi Arabia did in football, but we haven’t done it yet,” he commented.
“Dubai is a commercial brand like Adidas or Nike, which always makes money. It’s not about spending for the sake of spending. We have an impressive pavilion and a quality territory, so it’s easier to sell image rights, television and good sponsorships,” continued Kamenjasevic, who denied any kind of maneuver outside of basketball itself: “I reject everything said about money laundering, oil, human rights… All this is nonsense, lies, lack of culture and knowledge. It’s like saying that Spain and France or Lithuania and Russia are the same.
In the last few months, the name of Dubai has been an important part of the meetings of the ECA teams, the EuroLeague A-licensed clubs. In meetings where the future of a maximum continental competition is debated where the arrival of the Arab team is expected. And if it’s not in the Euroleague, it’s in the Eurocup, the second European competition. But not one or the other. ABA only as a starting point for European expansion.
“We have been negotiating with the Euroleague for more than three years. We spent a lot of time and energy in meetings to explain our project to them in an effective way so that they understand it. This is not a problem for us, it is a It’s a problem for the Euroleague and its situation. I think they’re in a situation right now where they can’t accept anyone until they fix their house inside. If they fix it, don’t know if we will still be available“Said the executive, who revealed that five different national leagues have contacted them to participate in the 2025-26 season:”We had a lot of trouble deciding where to play next year. And of these five, the Euroleague is not on the list“.
“The only deadline we have set for ourselves is to know where we will expand commercially next year in one of these five leagues in addition to the ABA,” he emphasized.
Kamenjasevic also defended himself against criticism of Dubai’s distance from Euroleague cities. About a seven hour plane ride. Lots of time to do during the week and play a game of basketball. “I can’t agree with the complaint at all. In Europe there are many teams with almost the same number of flying hours,” he said. “Complaining about the most connected city in the world by flights? I’ll give you some information we have. Between Euroleague, Eurocup and ABA, there are only four cities without direct flights. Why not in Dubai and yes in Russia, the Canary Islands or Israel? They should build a monument for us because we want to play in Europe and offers a level of commerce and sport never seen before. “
Finally, the former player admits that the Spanish clubs are the most likely to go to the Euroleague, a scenario that he cannot imagine in the short term: “Now I don’t think it will happen. If it’s for Baskonia, Madrid or Barça, yes, but there are many interested parties. The Spaniards surprised me about the vision. Even Valencia. They seek more and more resources to survive. They also think we are the solution. But the Euroleague, as a whole, is not, and they believe they are on the right track. “I feel bad not going with it because the public knows that the NBA is going to Europe and plans to do a tournament.”
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