By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
EuroLeague leaders and head coaches held their annual meeting in Barcelona to celebrate the past season’s success and establish major growth strategies for the upcoming 2026–27 campaign.
Additional details were shared by Euroleague Basketball on Wednesday.
Per the press release: “Euroleague Basketball held its annual coaches’ meeting this week, bringing head coaches from across the competition together for two days of review and forward planning as the league transitions from the season just completed into 2026-27.
EuroLeague coaches reconvene in Barcelona, reflect on 2025-26 and look toward 2026-27 season, read more on the tweet below!
— EuroLeague (@EuroLeague) July 1, 2026
Euroleague Basketball President Dejan Bodiroga opened proceedings with a look back at the 2025-26 campaign, praising the coaches for their role in the competition’s continued growth.
“I would like to welcome you all and thank you for joining our Annual Meeting,” said Bodiroga. “First of all, I would like to congratulate Coach [Georgios] Bartzokas on winning this year’s EuroLeague title, and I would also like to personally thank all of you for your contribution to delivering another outstanding season. Coaches are a vital part of the EuroLeague family and play a fundamental role in our success. Together, we are committed to building unity and continuing to move forward as one.”
“As you can see, the EuroLeague is strong, and we are working every day to make it even stronger, both on and off the court. I wish you all a very productive and successful meeting. Today, our CEO will share more about the excellent work being done across the organization and the exciting plans we have for the future. This will be followed by our traditional working session with the officiating department, whose professionalism, commitment, and continuous pursuit of improvement have been instrumental in raising the standard of officiating across our competitions season after season. We are fully committed to continuing our journey, improving every season, and making the EuroLeague stronger year after year.”
Euroleague Basketball CEO Chus Bueno then took coaches through his vision for the league’s future.
“When I joined Euroleague Basketball less than five months ago, we established three clear strategic priorities: increasing the value of our assets, accelerating business growth, and strengthening the league’s role at the heart of the European basketball ecosystem. Our first priority was to understand and unlock the true value of the league and its clubs. That process resulted in a €1.4 billion valuation for Euroleague Basketball, which has already been validated by strong interest from investors and cities eager to become franchises as part of our expansion.
“The second priority is transforming our business through EuroLeague+, our new direct-to-consumer platform that will bring together ticketing, streaming, merchandise, and fan engagement into a single digital ecosystem, while significantly expanding our investment in content, technology, and data capabilities.
“Our third priority is to strengthen collaboration across the entire basketball ecosystem, working closely with domestic leagues, international governing bodies, clubs, and other stakeholders. We firmly believe that collaboration, not fragmentation, is the key to creating sustainable value and taking European basketball to a new commercial level.
“Our ambition is clear: to evolve Euroleague Basketball from one of the world’s premier sporting competitions into a leading sports and entertainment business that creates lasting value for our clubs, our fans, our partners, and the entire European basketball ecosystem.”
A central part of the agenda, as in past years, was an extended session with the league’s officiating department, where coaches reviewed rule interpretations and discussed contentious in-game scenarios directly with senior refereeing staff.
“This meeting is always important,” said Bartzokas. “Whenever we come to this meeting in Barcelona, there is something we can gain from this situation and something we can learn. It is always a good opportunity for us to see each other at a different level than in the whole year. Basically, we are competitors but right now, we are colleagues and that is always important.”
Joan Penarroya, head coach of Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade, shared a similar sentiment: “I think it’s very important to do this at the end of the season. Everyone is a bit more relaxed and has a better perspective. It is great to have these kinds of meetings to exchange ideas, to exchange experiences and to prepare for the next season and to keep improving. Because our sport, in the end, if it stands out for something, it’s because it evolves every year. And an important part of that evolution depends on these kinds of meetings to implement everything that is discussed in the next season.”
For Ibon Navarro, newly appointed head coach of Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade, hearing directly from the refereeing committee brought added clarity ahead of his first season at the helm. “There will be some rules changes this season, so having those changes explained by the best in the business and do it the right way, with video examples, is very important. In the end, these are very important things you have to know, explain and tell your players in the best way you can. This is why it is so important to have this meeting [with the referees],” he said.
By the close of the session, the mood reflected both satisfaction with the season behind them and anticipation for the one ahead. With coaches once again central to the conversation, Euroleague Basketball used the meeting to reaffirm its approach: building the competition through ongoing dialogue with those leading it from the sidelines.
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