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Euroleague Basketball nominated for two awards at the Sports Business Awards

Euroleague Basketball nominated for two awards at the Sports Business Awards

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26 August 20243 Mins read

Euroleague Basketball nominated for two awards at the Sports Business Awards

The 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague season was full of drama, excitement and excellent basketball, but away from the courts, Euroleague Basketball’s efforts have been rewarded with two nominations at the Sports Business Awards 2024.

Following the major success of the EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge and the inaugural Hoop District tournament, the former has been put forward for the Best Fan Engagement Program award, while the latter has been nominated for the Best Brand Activation Involving Sport prize. These trophies will be awarded at an event in London, England, in late November.

As Euroleague Basketball has looked to drive even more engagement in the league, the EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge has played a key role in helping transform the organization’s digital ecosystem. Throughout the thrills and spills of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and BKT EuroCup seasons, the EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge provides fans with a chance to put themselves in the shoes of Zeljko Obradovic, Ergin Ataman or Pablo Laso.

Over the 34-round regular season, then during the playoffs and the Final Four, the EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge is there to accompany fans as they compete for fantasy glory. Fans create their roster for the campaign using a maximum of 100 credits and can make three changes to their team each week, with unlimited trades also available at certain points during the season. Year on year, interest in playing the EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge has continued to grow, resulting in record numbers during the 2023-24 season.

Last year, 186,716 fans played the official fantasy game for the EuroLeague and EuroCup, which is a whopping 154% increase compared to the 2022-23 campaign. In terms of the total number of teams, 308,000 squads were created in the 2023-24 season, a 178% jump from the previous year’s figures. This is further evidence of the way in which the EuroLeague has been able to enhance its presence, drawing in new fans in the process.

Another initiative that gained plenty of attention was the introduction of the first-ever Hoop District tournament, which saw influencers compete in a preliminary tournament in Paris, France, before the four finalist teams battled it out at Kraftwerk Berlin, Germany, during Final Four week. The four final teams competing for the €10,000 prize – led by @tresco_ball, @sbb_uk, @cbas and @_jamaaad, respectively – had a combined 1.5 million followers on Instagram alone, which combined with the EuroLeague’s account took the total following to over 2.5 million.

One of the major benefits of Hoop District was that younger fans were able to engage with Euroleague Basketball, even if they were not too familiar with the EuroLeague or EuroCup beforehand. This feeds into Euroleague Basketball’s determination to increase fan engagement and create an even bigger basketball community, one which will hopefully begin – or continue – to engage with the continent’s two leading basketball competitions.

The Sports Business Awards, launched in 2017, highlight and reward achievement by those behind the scenes in the sporting industry and celebrate the vital influence of business within sport by recognizing the organizations, teams and individuals who excel in their roles.

Best Fan Engagement Program

EuroLeague Fantasy Challenge

Best Brand Activation Involving Sport

Hoop District