PREMIER LEAGUE SPENT MORE THAN THE REST OF EUROPE

 

The Premier League spent more than the rest of Europe's top five leagues 𝘾𝙊𝙈𝘽𝙄𝙉𝙀𝘿 this summer 💰🤯

- Live Score

WEDNESDAY FOOTBALL RESULTS | EUROPEAN & ASIAN MATCHES

 

A HISTORY OF EUROOEAN BASKETBALL'S GROWTH

Basketball arrived in Europe through American soldiers and YMCA missionaries in the early twentieth century, but the sport spent decades in relative obscurity compared to football. The game found pockets of enthusiasm in Spain, Italy, Greece, and the Balkans, yet it lacked the structure needed to compete for public attention. That changed in 1958, when the FIBA European Champions Cup was established, giving the continent a competitive framework that would shape the next six decades of the sport.

What followed was a slow build. The competition operated under FIBA's control until 2000, when Euroleague Basketball was created as a separate governing body. This split marked a turning point in how European basketball was managed, marketed, and monetized. The league rebranded, restructured, and began attracting larger audiences and deeper investment.

The Early Decades Under FIBA

From 1958 through the late 1990s, the European Champions Cup served as the primary stage for the continent's best club teams. The format changed multiple times, but the competition remained under FIBA's administration. Real Madrid dominated the early years, winning multiple titles and establishing Spain as a basketball stronghold. Italian and Soviet clubs followed, with teams from Yugoslavia adding their own chapters during the Cold War era.

The game remained popular in southern and eastern Europe, where basketball culture had developed strong roots. Greece saw its clubs become regular contenders, and the sport became a national obsession in countries like Lithuania after the fall of the Soviet Union. Yet the competition lacked consistent commercial backing, and attendance figures remained modest compared to football. In 1996, the competition was renamed the FIBA EuroLeague, but the real restructuring came four years later. Euroleague Basketball took control of operations, and Euroleague Commercial Assets began managing the business side. This separation from FIBA allowed for more aggressive expansion and marketing strategies.

Revenue Streams Beyond the Arena

The global sports betting market reached $100.9 billion in 2024 and is projected to hit $187.39 billion by 2030, according to industry estimates. This growth has changed how leagues generate income. The NFL signed partnerships worth over $1 billion with DraftKings, FanDuel, and Caesars, while total team sponsorship revenue from betting brands approached $300 million during the 2022-2023 US seasons. European basketball has followed a similar path, with Euroleague Basketball and bwin renewing their multi-year sponsorship agreement through 2026. Still, regulatory pressure is tightening across Europe. Spain banned betting advertisements during prime time in 2021 and prohibited promotion on team jerseys and in stadiums, costing La Liga an estimated 90 million euros. Italy maintains a full blanket ban on sports marketing from betting firms. For those betting on sports, these restrictions have pushed operators and leagues to find alternative sponsorship models, even as the four major US sports leagues are set to earn a collective $4.2 billion from legal sports betting revenue.

Attendance Records and Arena Culture

The modern EuroLeague has seen consistent growth in live attendance. During the 2024-25 season, the average reached 10,589 spectators per game, breaking the previous record of 10,383 set the year before. That 2% increase continued a four-year streak of attendance milestones. The regular season drew a total of 3,039,060 spectators, placing the league fifth among all professional indoor sports leagues worldwide and second among basketball leagues globally, trailing only the NBA.

These numbers tell a story of fan investment. Arenas across Europe have upgraded facilities to accommodate growing demand, and game-day atmosphere has become a selling point for the league. Greek fans remain among the loudest, while Spanish and Turkish arenas regularly fill to capacity for high-profile matchups.

Expansion Beyond European Borders

The 2025-26 season brought a major structural change. The league expanded from 18 to 20 teams, with Dubai Basketball joining as the first non-Israeli team from outside Europe. This move signaled the league's ambitions beyond its traditional geography. The same year, the Final Four was held in Abu Dhabi, marking the first time the championship tournament took place outside Europe.

The Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi, partnered with Etihad Airways, signed a four-year title sponsorship agreement. This deal replaced the previous partnership with Turkish Airlines, which had been in place since 2010 and was valued by GlobalData Sport at $12.5 million per year. The new arrangement reflects the league's push into Middle Eastern markets, where sports investment has accelerated over the past decade.

Screens and Social Platforms

Television viewership for the EuroLeague has doubled over the past five years. Social media metrics have grown even faster. Total impressions reached 1.5 billion, with video views surging 56% to total 816 million. Content engagement across platforms tripled in recent years, driven by highlight clips, behind-the-scenes footage, and player-focused storytelling.

This growth aligns with a younger audience that consumes sports through mobile devices and streaming services rather than traditional broadcasts. The league has invested in content production, partnering with creators and platforms to extend its reach beyond live games. The result is a more consistent presence in fans' daily feeds, even during off-seasons.

Sponsorship and Commercial Partnerships

The global sports sponsorship market is projected to grow from $64.1 billion in 2024 to approximately $144.9 billion by 2034, according to industry projections. European basketball has positioned itself to capture a portion of this growth. The EuroLeague's expanded geography and improved viewership numbers make it more attractive to brands seeking international exposure.

Betting companies remain a complicated partner. While deals with firms like bwin continue to provide revenue, restrictions in Spain and Italy have limited how these partnerships can be activated. The league must balance commercial interests with regulatory realities, a tension that will shape future sponsorship strategies.

What Comes Next

European basketball has grown from a regional curiosity to a global product with audiences in the Middle East, Asia, and beyond. The league's decision to host events outside Europe and add non-European teams suggests further expansion is likely. Whether this growth can be sustained depends on continued investment in arenas, broadcasting, and player development.

The sport has built a foundation over nearly seven decades. What it does with that foundation in the coming years will determine how it competes for attention in a crowded global sports market.

- Eurobasket

KINGS OF EUROPE | ALK-TIME CHAMPIONS LEAGUE TABLE | SINCE 1992/93 SEASON

 

IS JAPAN THE WORLD'S BEST TEAM OUTSIDE EUROPE, SOUTH AMERICA?

TOKYO, Japan -- In the modern age of football, extended coaching stints are rare; rare enough that if a coach leads a nation through multiple FIFA World Cup cycles, like Japan's Hajime Moriyasu, it's a genuinely notable event.

Just under two years on from its staging, just seven of the 32 coaches that stalked the touchlines of Qatar still find themselves in the same employment today. There's Lionel Scaloni, of course, who has been in the role since 2018 and guided Argentina to a World Cup crown against another who remains in the job, Didier Deschamps of France -- who, at more than 12 years possesses the third-longest active tenure in international football. There's Zlatko Dalić, who has led Croatia to a World Cup semifinal and final since taking over in 2017, as well as Walid Regragui who guided Morocco to an unprecedented semifinal berth in 2022. Even on the smaller stage of Asia, half the coaches from January's Asian Cup have departed, with Australia's Graham Arnold the latest to do so when he resigned last month.

Moriyasu, though, has persevered.

The 56-year-old has been at the helm of his native Japan since 2018, succeeding Akira Nishino after the Samurai Blue's exit in the round of 16 in Russia. And while it hasn't always been smooth sailing for the former midfielder -- the axe was reportedly hovering during 2022 qualification, only for him to oversee a 2-0 win over Australia and secure a spot in Qatar -- he will lead his side into another World Cup qualifier against the Socceroos this Tuesday as not just the most in-form side in Asia, but possibly global football.

Simply put, across both the second and third phases of Asian qualifiers, the Samurai Blue have been perfect.

Across the six games of the second phase of qualification, Japan scored 21 goals across five wins without conceding once. Across three games in this third phase, they've kept three more clean sheets whilst scoring 14 times: steamrolling China and Bahrain in their opening fixtures before defeating fellow Asian powers Saudi Arabia, led by Roberto Mancini, in Jeddah last week -- the 2-0 win the first time Japan has beaten the Green Falcons in the Gulf state.

"More important than scoring a goal myself is winning at this stadium for the first time. That's a huge thing for Japanese football," said Crystal Palace's Daichi Kamada, who opened the scoring.

Going further back and examining the past 16 months, Japan has won 20 of their last 22 games, which included a three-game run in which they scored 12 goals against four conceded whilst downing Canada, Turkey, and, most impressively, Germany in Wolfsburg. Of the players who featured in the last year, 37 play with European clubs -- including 22 of the October squad -- which has brought a new level of depth and competition for places.

A young core of the squad that has been referred to as "The Tokyo Olympics Generation" has come to the fore; exposed to the senior national setup at the time Japan hosted the global showpiece in preparation to replace the old guard of stalwarts such as Maya Yoshida, Yuto Nagatomo, and Hiroki Sakai. And many of these aren't just in Europe, they're serving as key contributors to their clubs, too; Parma goalkeeper Zion Suzuki, SC Freiburg's Ritsu Dōan, Takefusa Kubo of Real Sociedad, AS Monaco's Takumi Minamino, Kaoru Mitoma of Brighton & Hove Albion, and Liverpool's Wataru Endō. Additionally, defenders Takehiro Tomiyasu of Arsenal and Hiroki Itō of Bayern Munich are absent from the squad as they continue to work their way back from injury, with reports indicating that both are well on track to return.

With 20 wins in their last 22 games, Japan are in the type of form that could cause major shockwaves at the 2026 World Cup. AFP via Getty Images

Already winners of the Women's World Cup, Japan has long been considered one of the most likely nations to break the European/South American duopoly in the men's and with the talent their producing and the continued maturation of the game in the nation -- the J1 League was only founded in 1992 -- one can see why.

In pursuit of this goal, the Japanese Football Association (JFA) released Japan's Way, described as being a "National Football Philosophy" that would work backwards from an ideal state of having "10 million football families and [winning] the FIFA World Cup by 2050." It makes for fascinating reading.

While there was the obvious focus on technical and physical excellence that has come to define Japan's status as Asia's leading power, its analysis of leading football nations found that while strengthening the national team was vital this was accompanied by the importance of fostering a culture around the game that stretches far beyond the elite. The construction of this was therefore one of its key findings, emphasising the importance of continued improvement of the J1 League, already Asia's best, and stating "We must create an environment that allows everyone to enjoy football at their level. An environment that brings joy to those who play, watch or support (players, coaches, referees, organisers, parents, fans, supporters and more)."

Seeking to reclaim and repurpose a phrase that had been a self-deprecating acknowledgement of weakness, it declared that Japan's Way needed to be one that resonated and was representative of the strengths of Japan, rather than seeking to copy and paste the culture of an existing successful nation, and serve as its compass as it adjusted and responded to the changing face of football. "In that boundless sea flows the current of world football," it read.

Which segues quite nicely to the potential stormy waters requiring navigation during this window, which will conclude this Tuesday in Saitama.

While Japan's recent run of 20 wins in their last 22 games is impressive, it's worth noting that those two defeats came at the Asian Cup, the first against Iraq in the group stages and then against Iran in the quarterfinals. Most observers were expecting the Samurai Blue to warm into the tournament, but their campaign failed to ever get out of first gear. And while Moriyasu's side has rightly been recognised as playing some of the best football in Asia as of late -- their new generation's free-scoring habits helping to shed the defensive, pragmatic tag that has accompanied the coach -- the October window represented a test of the side's progress in competitive fixtures.

While neither the Saudis nor Australians have been at their best in recent times, they still represent two of Asia's best, monopolising -- alongside Japan, South Korea and Iran -- places at the World Cup during its 32-team era. And with qualification for 2026 already looking almost certain, these two fixtures would give fresh insight as to the progression since the Asian Cup. They would be favoured in both and if they were able to meet those expectations -- perhaps this window could be considered something of a performance appraisal -- they, and the rest of the world, would glean a small insight into how close they are to realising the vision of Japan's Way.

And with a historic win in Jeddah secured last week, one tick, the focus now turns to the Socceroos in Saitama on Tuesday, a clash both history and form suggest Japan should win.

Though the two belligerents have established one of Asia's best rivalries, one born of mutual respect, Australia has never won on Japanese soil. Those in green-and-gold have won just two of their meetings since the turn of the century, and just one of the 12 staged since they joined the Asian Football Confederation following their win over Japan at the 2006 FIFA World Cup as a member of Oceania. A 3-1 win over China against Adelaide on Thursday finally got the Socceroos on the board in the third round of Asian qualification but after a loss to Bahrain -- who subsequently lost 5-0 to Japan -- and a draw with Indonesia in their opening two fixtures sparked Arnold's exit, and his replacement with Tony Popovic, few observers hold realistic hopes of an upset.

However, the Socceroos have also made a habit of raising their game when playing against the world's best: taking their struggles to break down low blocks while serving as the ball-dominant side in possession and turning them around on their highly ranked foes. And in Popovic, they have a coach that has a demonstrated history of defying the odds in Asia: leading Western Sydney Wanderers to an Asian Champions League crown in 2014 -- which included a round of 16 win against a Sanfrecce Hiroshima outfit coached by Moriyasu himself. So while scant few Down Under are expecting it -- moreso hoping their side can limit the damage -- it also wouldn't be unprecedented if Socceroos were able to emerge on Tuesday with some kind of smash-and-grab.

If Japan can avoid that, another question will have been answered by Moriyasu and his side.

- Joey Lynch, Australia Correspondent

TEAM OF THE SEASON | EUROPES TOP 5 LEAGUES 2023/24

 

THE RACE FOR FIVE PLACES IN NEXT SEASON'S CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

Italy has sealed one of the extra places. (Photo by Giuseppe Cottini/AC Milan via Getty Images)

 Two leagues have been rewarded with an extra place in next season's Champions League based on performance in Europe this season, all part of the revamp to expand it to a 36-team competition -- and this is how it all played out.

Even though the knockout stages of the Champions League (UCL), Europa League (UEL) and Europa Conference League (UECL) are only at the semifinal stage, we already know which leagues will receive the extra places.

How does it work?

It's about the best average coefficient of all teams taking part in Europe for each country. The two leagues with the best score get an extra place.

Each win is worth two coefficient points, a draw gets you one, and you get nothing for a defeat.

If a match goes to extra time, the score after 120 minutes is used. Penalties are not taken into account if the game is drawn, as they are used to determine the tie rather than the individual match.

There are also bonus points for getting to certain stages, which help give extra prominence to those teams who do well in the higher-profile competitions.

Champions League bonus points

4 - Group stage participation

5 - Round of 16

1 - QF, SF, final

Europa League bonus points

4 - Group winners

2 - Group runners-up

1 - Round of 16, QF, SF, final

Europa Conference League bonus points

2 - Group winners

1 - Group runners-up

1 - SF, final

The points gained by all clubs are added together, and that total score is divided by the number of clubs a country has in Europe in the season. That gives the coefficient average.

For example, if a country has 35 coefficient points and seven teams in Europe, its score is 5.00 for the table (35 / 7 = 5.00.)

So wins aren't worth more in the Champions League?

No, the coefficient system is designed to assess the overall strength of leagues. Wins are the same in all competitions, otherwise it would be impossible for those leagues with few or no teams in the UCL group stage to move up the coefficient ranking.

The bonus points serve two purposes: firstly, to give weight to the strength of the competitions on a sliding scale, and second to provide points to those teams taking part in the UCL who might get few positive results.

In fact, it's better for leagues to have some teams drop down into the UEL for the knockout rounds. Bonus points might be lower in the UEL, but each two-legged tie has five points up for grabs (four for the result and one for progressing to the next round). If a team stays in the UCL, they might not get past the round of 16 and have little chance of adding to the country's coefficient through wins.

Won't this just turn out to be extra places for two top leagues?

If we look back at the previous five seasons, England and Spain take seven of the 10 slots, with Italy and Germany one each. Only in 2021-22 did one of the countries with fewer than four teams in the Champions League (the Netherlands) finish in the top two of average coefficient.

So yes, history tells us that it's highly likely two of the top leagues will have five places in next season's Champions League.

2022-23: England and Italy

2021-22: England and the Netherlands

2020-21: England and Spain

2019-20: Spain and Germany

2018-19: England and Spain

How does the coefficient table look this season?

This is the top 10 as of May 1.

1. ITALY, 19.428

2. GERMANY, 18.357

3. England, 17.375

4. France, 16.083

5. Spain, 15.437

6. Belgium, 14.200

7. Czechia, 13.500

8. Turkey, 12.000

9. Portugal, 11.000

10. Netherlands, 10.000

Borussia Dortmund's victory over Paris Saint-Germain means Germany are in an unassailable position in second and will get an extra place.

Italy had already sealed one of the places last month.

When do we usually find out who gets the extra places?

In many seasons it may be obvious in March, once we know which leagues have teams through to the quarterfinals of the three European competitions. It's been closer this time, but terrible results for English clubs in the quarterfinals, losing four of its five clubs, effectively handed second place to Germany.

However, the 2019-20 season shows that it can go right down to the wire. Germany didn't overtake the Premier League for second place until Bayern Munich beat Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 in the final of the Champions League. If that's repeated this season, we wouldn't know which league gets the second additional spot until the UCL final takes place June 1.

It would leave two clubs in the domestic leagues praying for the right result in the final. In 2019-20, Bayer Leverkusen and Leicester City finished fifth in Germany and England respectively. Leverkusen would have needed Bayern to win the UCL final to get the place, while Leicester required Bayern to lose the match.

What's the maximum number of places in the UCL and in Europe?

Under the old system, a maximum of five clubs from one association could play in the Champions League. It meant that in the unlikely event teams from the same league won the Champions League and Europa League, yet both finished outside the UCL places domestically, then fourth would have to surrender their place and drop into the UEL.

But from 2024-25 the cap has been removed and it will be possible for seven teams to get a place in the UCL: The top four, fifth through league performance in Europe, and the winners of the UCL and the UEL.

It would also technically be possible to have 11 teams in Europe: The usual allocation of seven, plus the extra Champions League place and the titleholders of all three European competitions (they would all have to finish outside a European position in the league.)

Who gets the extra place?

If we assume the extra spots will go to one of the top leagues, it means fifth place will enter the Champions League and it will have eight (rather than seven) places in Europe. Other European berths drop down a place.

Any season the Premier League gets it, the access will be:

Champions League: 1-5

Europa League: 6, FA Cup winners

Europa Conference League: Carabao Cup winners

If LaLiga, the Bundesliga or Serie A get it, the access will be:

Champions League: 1-5

Europa League: 6, Cup winners

Europa Conference League: 7

In all cases if a team wins the domestic cup and finishing in a European place in the league, the spots drop down one.

If a team wins the UEL or UCL but doesn't qualify for the UCL domestically, that league would have six places in the UCL -- the five places to the leagues plus the UEL or UCL titleholders as an additional. The league would forfeit the domestic place earned by the titleholders.

It can happen with Borussia Dortmund this season in Germany, as they are likely to finish fifth. If Dortmund win the Champions League, Germany would have six teams (the top six) in the UCL but only one in the UEL -- losing the spot earned by Dortmund.

Which teams would benefit right now?

Right now, Borussia Dortmund are fifth in the Bundesliga, with Roma holding that spot in Serie A.

GIANNI INFANTINO ON EUROPE'S CRITICISM OF THE WORLD CUP

 

MEET TEAM EUROPE | LAVER CUP 2022

EUROPE WORLD CUP QUALIFIER: RESULTS

• France4Bulgaria1

  FT
• Luxembourg0Sweden1

  FT
• Netherlands4Belarus1

  FT
• Latvia0Faroe Islands2

  FT
• Portugal6Andorra0

  FT
• Belgium4Bos-Herze0

  FT
• Estonia4Gibraltar0

  FT
• Greece2Cyprus0

  FT
• Hungary2Switzerland3

  FT