The competition was created in 2003, following the defections of most of the top European basketball teams from the former
FIBA SuproLeague, which heralded the formation of the new version of the
Turkish Airlines EuroLeague, under the umbrella of
Euroleague Basketball. FIBA was aiming to create a competition similar to the former
Suproleague to rival the
Euroleague. From the
2004–05 season and after FIBA sanctioned the
Euroleague and the
ULEB Cup, the EuroChallenge was considered to be the 3rd strongest international professional basketball competition for men's clubs in Europe, after both the
Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and the
EuroCup (both of which fall under the supervision of
Euroleague Basketball). Though, during the first two seasons of the competition's coexistence with the
EuroCup, the EuroChallenge (under the name FIBA Europe League) was favored by Italian, Russian and Greek teams, making both competitions quite comparable in strength. Since the 2007-08 and following am agreement between
ULEB and FIBA the two EuroChallenge finalists were
promoted to the next season's
2nd tier level, the
EuroCup competition. In 2015,
FIBA Europe dissolved the EuroChallenge, to start a new self-anointed second-tier competition, called the
FIBA Europe Cup, in an attempt to compete with the
EuroCup.
Criteria and rules • Each country could have no more than 4 teams in the FEL. • Clubs could maintain all TV, marketing and merchandising rights, with the exception of the rights related to the Final Four. • The main criteria for the participation of Cclubs to the FEL would include the ranking of the respective National Federations, and their participation and results in past FIBA competitions • Venues should hold a minimum capacity of 2,000 spectators • National Federations could propose their candidates for wild cards
Name history • FIBA Europe League (2003–2005) • FIBA EuroCup (2005–2008) • FIBA EuroChallenge (2008-2015) ==Final Fours==