The Bristol Flyers will become the first British team to compete in the newly-formed European North Basketball League (ENBL) next season.
Founded in 2021, the ENBL was established
for professional clubs in Northern, Central and Eastern Europe, who aspire to
compete internationally at the highest level.
Now one of the fastest growing basketball leagues in Europe, the Flyers will fly the British Basketball League flag in the ENBL alongside teams from Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Poland, Czech Republic, Kosovo, Israel and Ukraine.
The addition of the Flyers will take the
ENBL to 16 teams for the 2023/24 campaign – with clubs drawn into two eight
team groups, competing in seven midweek games during the regular season.
The top four from each group will advance
to the ENBL playoffs, before a final four will be held at a central location in
April 2024.
Speaking on the club’s
new European adventure, Flyers Director Jon Lansdown said: “We are really
excited to join this competition. Participating in the ENBL brings to life our
European ambitions and offers us a platform to continue to grow and build
further momentum for the Flyers.
“It will be fantastic to introduce
European basketball to Bristol and we look forward to what the competition will
bring, not just for the club but our fans and the city too.”
Bristol Flyers Head Coach Andreas Kapoulas
added: “This is an exciting opportunity to experience European competition
and understand what it takes to compete at this level, both on and off the
court.
“As a club we are on an incredible
journey over the last 18 years and with our new venue on the horizon, we want
to continue our progress by taking the next steps in the development of our
programme.”
Speaking on the addition of Bristol
Flyers, Edgars Zanders, Secretary General of the European North Basketball
League said: “The ENBL has been working hard since day one to have team
from the UK join our ENBL family and Bristol Flyers have proven their
professionalism, both on and off the court.
“This season has been another
record-breaking year for the Flyers, having secured the most single season wins
in program history and a third-placed finish in the British Basketball League,
and home arena is always full of fans.
“The ENBL are certain that the Flyers will add great value to the European North Basketball League campaign for the 2023/24 season and beyond.”
