Inside NBA Europe’s $10bn plan that has football clubs queueing to join

Some of the biggest names in European football will bid for a franchise in ESL-style league, now due to launch in 2028

The launch of NBA Europe will be delayed 12 months until 2028, with a pre-qualifying competition planned for next year to find four temporary members to join the 16-team league’s inaugural season alongside 12 permanent franchises.

The NBA is planning to invest about $10bn (£7.6bn) over 10 years in what sources have described as the sporting world’s biggest-ever startup competition. It is understood to have received multiple offers for the 12 franchises that exceed their targets, with prices expected to range from $500m to more than $1bn for the London franchise.

Many of the winning bids are expected to come from the owners of football clubs that compete in the Champions League, with the deputy commissioner, Mark Tatum, holding talks with senior executives from Barcelona, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Milan last week.

London, Manchester, Rome, Athens, Istanbul and Lyon will also get permanent franchises, topped up by four qualifiers from within European basketball’s existing structure.

The London franchise is understood to have attracted several bids in excess of $1bn from some eye-catching investors including the former Chelsea chair Todd Boehly, a consortium involving the former Tottenham chair Daniel Levy and MSP Sports Capital, as well as Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

Buss Sports Capital, the US investment group that sold its 17.8% stake in the Los Angeles Lakers to Joshua Kushner this year, is believed to have submitted an offer for the Manchester franchise, but City Football Group (CFG) has not bid despite having close links with the NBA, which has agreed to set up a new global academy in Abu Dhabi as part of a $300m partnership.