LONDON (Reuters) -The British Basketball Federation has been suspended by the sport’s world governing body and its men’s team barred from international competition because of governance issues, FIBA announced on Wednesday.
A taskforce was set up in August by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) to investigate “regulatory non-compliance” within British basketball after a power struggle between the BBF and Super League Basketball.
The BBF awarded a 15-year licence to run a new professional men’s competition — the Great Britain Basketball League – to GBB League Ltd (GBBL) in April, a consortium led by the American businessman Marshall Glickman.
However the nine clubs who set up Super League Basketball, after the collapse of the British Basketball League in 2024, refused to join, claiming the tender process run by the national governing body was an abuse of its dominant position.
The BBF robustly denied the claims, saying it had only granted an ‘interim licence’ to Super League Basketball to bridge the gap until the award of a long-term licence.
“For this reason the interim licence included an express right for the BBF to terminate it after one year,” the BBF said in a statement earlier this year.
The FIBA statement said it had imposed the measures on BBF after a comprehensive review of the situation, including interviews and meetings with basketball stakeholders.
“These measures aim to restore regulatory integrity and promote sustainable governance of men’s basketball in Great Britain as soon as possible,” it said.
Under the terms of the suspension the BBF will not be permitted to licence or recognise national men’s competitions, or field a men’s national team in FIBA senior competitions.
The Super League Basketball season began in September.
The BBF and Super League Basketball have been approached for comment.
(Reporting by Martyn HermanEditing by Toby Davis)
