Great News! Bulgarian Club Basketball Returns to the Big Stage

Fantastic news for Bulgarian basketball has just broken. EuroCup, the second-largest club tournament on the Old Continent, announced that Balkan will officially be part of the competition. This marks the first time a Bulgarian team will play in the EuroCup, representing the most significant achievement for a Bulgarian club since Lukoil Academic's participation in the ULEB Cup group stages (the predecessor to the EuroCup, then a EuroLeague format).

The new project in Botevgrad is spearheaded by Nikolay Rashkov, director of the men's and women's national teams. Rashkov and his team were instrumental in bringing this year's premier club tournament, the EuroLeague, to Bulgaria. It's worth noting that 16 games were played in Bulgaria as Hapoel Tel Aviv hosted most of their season's matches there.

“The team responsible for organizing the EuroLeague is behind this project. We will announce all the details about what's next, including our goals and the future steps for Balkan's development, at the end of the month. Our ambition is to assemble a competitive team and gather the most promising Bulgarian players,” Rashkov told Sportal.bg.

“It's crucial to understand that this license also grants a team the right to participate in the Adidas NextGen tournament (where Bulgarian talent Kristian Zanov played for Panathinaikos). We are working on a program in cooperation with the federation to support and jointly develop the national youth teams,” Rashkov added to our media outlet.

Here is the official announcement from Euroleague:

Euroleague has announced the list of teams that will participate in the BKT EuroCup tournament for the 2026–27 season.

Following approval from the ECA Executive Board, the tournament will expand in both the number of participating clubs and its format. The 32 teams will be divided into four groups of eight, with 16 teams advancing to the playoffs. The playoffs will feature eighth-finals, quarter-finals, semi-finals, and finals, all played in a best-of-three format.

The tournament's expansion is a response to the immense interest shown by clubs across Europe, who have identified the BKT EuroCup as a competition that fosters stability, stimulates investment, and supports long-term planning among participating clubs, while providing a high-quality framework for teams to compete at the highest level.

Team selection was based on their final standings in their respective national leagues, with 22 clubs receiving long-term five-year licenses and wild card invitations. The final wild card, which will complete the list of 32 participating teams, will be announced in the coming days and will be awarded among clubs that have submitted the necessary documentation.

Should a club receive a EuroLeague wild card and thus vacate its spot in the BKT EuroCup, the freed-up position will also be filled by clubs that have submitted the required documentation.

The list of participants includes representatives from 16 different countries and territories. Italy is the best represented with five clubs: Dolomiti Energia Trento, Umana Reyer Venezia, Bertram Tortona, Napoli Basket, and Rome. Germany and Turkey follow with four representatives each.

The full list of teams for the BKT EuroCup 2026–27 will be presented at the next ECA Executive Board meeting for official approval and subsequently submitted to the General Assembly for ratification.

As a result of this expansion, Euroleague Basketball competitions will feature a total of 52 teams – 20 in the EuroLeague and 32 in the BKT EuroCup – showcasing the highest level of club basketball on the continent.