BBF hits back and counter-sues SLB in British basketball bloodbath
The British Basketball Federation is counter-suing Super League Basketball in a further escalation of the bitter in-fighting blighting the domestic game.
The BBF filed its defence this week against SLB’s High Court claim, which accuses the governing body of abusing its position by preventing clubs from running their league.
In its counterclaim, the BBF argues that SLB is the party abusing its position, in this case as the incumbent operator of elite basketball, in order to stifle competitors.
It is the latest twist in a bloody battle over the future of the game which threatens to leave Britain’s leading clubs without a recognised league for the coming season.
“The British Basketball Federation (BBF) has filed its Defence to the claim brought against it by Super League Basketball (SLB) and has brought its own Counterclaim against SLB’s anticompetitive behaviour,” it said.
“The BBF is robustly defending the legal claims made against it by SLB. In its Defence, submitted to the High Court, the BBF makes clear that it has not abused a dominant position, as alleged by SLB.
“In its accompanying Counterclaim the BBF notes that SLB is abusing its position as the incumbent league operator by seeking to prevent the development of a competitive market.”
What is British basketball civil war about?
The dispute centres on the right to run a British basketball league, which the BBF has control over through its membership of world governing body Fiba.
It withdrew SLB’s licence earlier this summer after just one year, having awarded a 15-year licence that begins in 2026 to US-led investors GBBL.
The BBF has also blocked SLB clubs from playing in Fiba-run European competitions next season and refused to sign off on visa applications for their overseas players.
The governing body disputes SLB’s claim that it withdrew from the licence tender process because its clubs believed that the terms infringed competition law.
“It was only when it became apparent to SLB that it may face meaningful competition in the open tender that it changed its approach entirely: it withdrew from the process and instead commenced a campaign of public and private attacks on the BBF,” it added.
“SLB’s motivations were and are transparent – to apply pressure on the BBF in the hope the Federation would abandon the tender and award the long-term licence to SLB.
“SLB has also made misleading and baseless representations to important stakeholders, damaging the sport’s reputation, and went so far as to seek the withdrawal of public funding awarded to support the senior and junior GB teams.”
SLB has said it would accept formal recognition from the BBF rather than a licence, which would allow it to continue operating under Fiba’s auspices.
The dispute now looks to be heading for a High Court hearing, despite questions about how the cash-strapped BBF is affording costly legal action.