Euroleague Basketball has confirmed that the 2026-27 adidas NextGen EuroLeague will include 40 Under-18 teams from 15 countries. The tournament structure will consist of six competitions, starting with two new Pre-Qualifying Tournaments.

Read More

Of the 40 teams, 26 will enter the four Qualifying Tournaments directly, while 14 will begin in the Pre-Qualifying Tournaments. Participants include junior teams from 17 EuroLeague clubs, 10 EuroCup clubs, as well as 13 other clubs and academies.

The season kicks off in Rijeka, Croatia, from October 23-25, where host Kvarner CEBA Academy will compete against Split Basketball, Bosna BH Telecom, FMP Belgrade, Tofas Bursa, Pablo Laso Academy, Zentro Basket Madrid, and an adidas Select Program team. The winner of this tournament will progress to the Belgrade qualifier.

The second Pre-Qualifier will be held in Vienna from November 27-29. Teams competing will include Vienna Basketball, Abu Dhabi Wildcats, Cholet Basket, London Lions, Neptunas Klaipeda, Orange1 Bassano, Veolia Towers Hamburg, and an adidas Select Program team, with the winner earning a spot in the Paris qualifier.

The first Qualifying Tournament will take place in Munich, hosted by Bayern Munich from January 7-9, 2027. Competing teams include Cedevita Olimpija, Joventut Badalona, Valencia Basket, Maccabi Tel Aviv, Panathinaikos, Pole France INSEP Paris, and NextGen Team Munich.

Virtus Bologna will host the second Qualifying Tournament from January 21-23, featuring Umana Reyer Venice, Aris Thessaloniki, Besiktas, ratiopharm ulm, Real Madrid, Zalgiris Kaunas, and NextGen Team Bologna.

On February 26-28, the competition moves to Paris, where host Paris Basketball will face Olimpia Milan, Dubai Basketball, Barcelona, Kids&Us Manresa, Olympiacos, NextGen Team Paris, and the winner from the Vienna Pre-Qualifier.

The final Qualifying Tournament will be held in Belgrade from April 2-4, where Crvena Zvezda will host local teams Mega Super and Partizan, along with Dolomiti Energia Trento, Hapoel Tel Aviv, ASVEL, NextGen Team Belgrade, and the Rijeka Pre-Qualifier winner.

The champions of the four qualifying tournaments will advance to the 2027 adidas NextGen EuroLeague Finals, which will also include four wild-card teams to complete the eight-team field.