LONDON: 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 license 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 license’ to Super League Basketball to bridge the gap until the award of a long-term license.
“For this reason the interim license 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 license or recognize 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.
FIBA suspends British Basketball Federation over governance issues
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FIBA suspends British Basketball Federation over governance issues
- A taskforce was set up in August by FIBA to investigate “regulatory non-compliance” within British basketball
- The BBF robustly denied the claims, saying it had only granted an ‘interim license’ to Super League Basketball
Mid East Falcons finish strong with victory over Arabia Wolves
- Abu Dhabi franchise beat their Dubai counterparts 3-2 to finish the inaugural Baseball United season joint top with Mumbai Cobras
DUBAI: Five pitchers combined to complete a five-hit, two-run game, while Jake Hjelle and Federico Celli each drove in a run, to give the Mid East Falcons a 3-2 victory over the Arabia Wolves at Baseball United Ballpark on Sunday.
Left-handed starter Shotaro Kasahara worked for 3.0 IP, allowing only one hit, with three walks and one strikeout. Yunis Halim, who earned the victory, pitched two scoreless innings, with one walk.
Stephen Mufareh (1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER), Yudai Mizuchina (1.0 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO), Shotaro Nakata (1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 SO) and Yokohama Baystars prospect Haru Shoshioka, who earned the save (1.0 IP, 1 SO), completed the pitching line for Mid East.
As for the offense, Alejandro de Aza went 2-for-3 with one run scored and Federico Celli went 1-for-4 with one RBI. Celli reached nine RBIs in the last two games.
With this result, the Mid East Falcons finished the season tied 6-3 with the Mumbai Cobras in the final standings. Both will dispute the United Series starting on Dec. 12.
Other highlights:
Michael Robles went 1-for-3 with a triple and one RBI, as the standout performer in the Wolves’ offense.
Angelo Cabral took the loss, after 4.0 IP, where he allowed four hits, two earned runs, gave up one walk and struck out three.
Arabia allowed a total of 20 runs in this regular season final series, with only nine runs scored.
With this result, the Wolves ended with a 4-5 record.
