Teams from 11 different countries will play in four qualifying events
28 top U18 programs to compete in 2025 NextGen EuroLeague Qualifiers
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The newly rebranded Adidas NextGen EuroLeague (formerly known as the Euroleague Basketball Adidas Next Generation Tournament) has a new look and new feel to it, and now the identities of the 28 Under-18 programs to compete in the 23rd edition of the competition can be revealed.
Clubs and academies representing 12 different countries will take part in four different three-day qualifying events in the hunt to be crowned the junior club kings of Europe. Some 24 of the teams return from last season. Fifteen teams are the junior sections of Turkish Airlines EuroLeague clubs, nine are from BKT EuroCup clubs, four were specially invited and each of the four qualifying events will also feature one Next Generation Team.
The NextGen EuroLeague qualifying season will begin in Istanbul with a qualifying tournament on Friday, November 29 through Sunday, December 1. NextGen EuroLeague newcomer Bahcesehir College Istanbul will be this qualifying event's host. The weekend will also feature fellow Turkish sides Anadolu Efes Istanbul and Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul, Italy's Umana Reyer Venice, Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens of Greece, Serbia's Mega MIS Belgrade, Spain's Gran Canaria and NGT Istanbul.
Qualifying will continue in Germany in early 2025 when FC Bayern Munich serves as the host of the second event, set to run on the weekend of January 17-19. Aris Midea Thessaloniki of Greece, Virtus Segafredo Bologna of Italy, Cedevita Olimpija Ljubljana of Slovenia, Real Madrid and Valencia Basket of Spain, SC Derby Podgorica of Montenegro and NGT Munich.
Another German town, Ulm, will be the site of the third event on February 7-9 with ratiopharm Ulm as the host. Germany's ALBA Berlin, Lithuania's Zalgiris Kaunas, Greece's Olympiacos Piraeus, Spain's FC Barcelona, the United Arab Emirates's Dubai Falcons Basketball Academy, France's LDLC ASVEL Villeurbanne and NGT Ulm complete the list for the Ulm qualifier.
The capital of Serbia will be the home of the fourth and final qualifier, hosted by Crvena Zvezda Belgrade, on March 7-9. Joining Zvezda will be Partizan Belgrade of Serbia, Joventut Badalona of Spain, Dolomiti Energia Trento and EA7 Emporio Armani Milan of Italy, Pole France INSEP Paris of France, Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv of Israel and NGT Belgrade.
These teams will clash to be the last one standing when the continental junior club champion is crowned in the spring in a finals phase to be held in parallel with the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four.