London to Host 2013 Euroleague Final Four

By Sam Neter on May 13, 2012

The Euroleague has announced the 2013 Euroleague Final Four will be held at the O2 Arena in London, with an option for 2014 also being likely.

The announcement means another one of the world’s biggest basketball events will be coming to the UK, just a year after the Olympics takes place in the capital. It comes about through the Euroleague’s partnership with AEG – the owners and operators of the O2 Arena.

Jordi Bertomeu, Euroleague Basketball President and CEO, explained that the UK market is an important one they feel the need to invest in:

“For us, the UK it’s a market we want to invest efforts in order to help the game grow in this important country. But also it’s important because the London and UK has no experience until now to host basketball events. Of course we will have the Olympics this summer but never in the history of European basketball this country has been hosting basketball Events so that is why for us it is also challenging.

“The main purpose of this deal is to contribute to the promotion of our game in those markets and we have the perfect partner to do this project.”

In addition to the games themselves, which bring the best four teams from the Euroleague season together to decide a champion, the Final Four also features the annual Nike International Junior Tournament, which features some of the top European basketball prospects, and other parallel events.

This marks the first time that a European basketball title game will take place in the United Kingdom. London joins a list of European capitals and storied sites that have partnered with Euroleague Basketball to host the Final Four, which includes Istanbul this season, Paris in 2010, Berlin 2009, Madrid 2008, Athens 2007, Prague 2006, Moscow 2005, Tel Aviv 2004, Barcelona 2003 and Bologna 2002.

What do you think? Will you be buying tickets?!

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