Basketball in Spain

Basketball in Spain
Barclaycard Center, Real Madrid’s Stadium.
CountrySpain
Governing bodyFEB
National team(s)Spain
First played1923
Registered players385,110[1]
Clubs3,619 [1]
National competitions
Club competitions
International competitions

Basketball is the second most popular sport in Spain, directly behind association football. The top Spanish League, Liga ACB, is a member of ULEB, and the top Spanish League teams can compete in Europe, most notably in the Euroleague and Eurocup, and also under the FIBA Europe umbrella, in the FIBA Europe Cup. The Spanish teams also compete in a national domestic cup competition each year, called the Copa del Rey de Baloncesto, which is played by the top eight teams in the standings of the Liga ACB, at the end of the first half of the regular season.

Spanish basketball league system

Main article: Spanish basketball league system

The tier levels

For the 2018–19 season, the Spanish basketball league system is as follows:

Level League
1 Liga ACB
(18 teams)
(previously Liga Nacional)
2 Primera FEB
Formerly LEB Oro
(18 teams)
3 Segunda FEB
Formerly LEB Plata
(24 teams)
4 Tercera FEB Group A
Formerly Liga EBA
Asturias Basque Country (autonomous community) Cantabria Castile and León Galicia (Spain) Navarre La Rioja
(2 sub-groups of 14 teams each) 		Tercera FEB Group B
Formerly Liga EBA
Canary Islands Castilla–La Mancha Community of Madrid
(16 teams) 		Tercera FEB Group C
Formerly Liga EBA
Aragon Balearic Islands Catalonia
(2 sub-groups of 14 teams each) 		Tercera FEB Group D
Formerly Liga EBA
Andalusia Ceuta Extremadura Melilla
(2 sub-groups of 10 teams each) 		Tercera FEB Group E
Formerly Liga EBA
Region of Murcia Valencian Community
(16 teams)
5 Primera División
(15 groups, one for each autonomous community except Basque Country, La Rioja, and Navarra, who share the same group; in Catalonia, known as Copa Catalunya)
Regional and lower divisions


Evolution of the Spanish basketball league system

Tier\Years 1957–78 1978–83 1983–90 1990–94 1994–96 1996–2000 2000–07 2007–09 2009–
1 1ª División ACB
2 2ª División 1ª División B 1ª División EBA LEB (since 2007, LEB Oro)
3 3ª División 2ª División EBA LEB 2 (since 2007, LEB Plata)
4 Lower 3ª División Lower Lower Lower 2ª División EBA LEB Bronce EBA
5 Lower Lower 1ª División EBA 1ª División
6 Lower 1ª División Lower
7 Lower

Spanish women's basketball league system

Level League
1 Liga Femenina
(14 teams)
2 Liga Femenina Challenge
(16 teams)
3 Liga Femenina 2 Group A
(12 teams) 		Liga Femenina 2 Group B
(12 teams)
4 1ª División Group A
Asturias Cantabria Castile and León Galicia (Spain) 		1ª División Group B
Aragon Basque Country (autonomous community) La Rioja Navarre 		1ª División Group C
Balearic Islands Catalonia 		1ª División Group D
Castilla–La Mancha Community of Madrid Region of Murcia Valencian Community 		1ª División Group E
Andalusia Canary Islands Ceuta Extremadura Melilla

Spain national basketball team

Men's team

Main article: Spain men's national basketball team

Women's team

Main article: Spain women's national basketball team

Autonomous teams

Like in football, several Autonomous Communities have their own autonomous team. These teams are not recognized by FIBA Europe, and only play in friendly games.

Between 2008 and 2010, the Torneo de las Naciones was played between the teams of Basque Country, Catalonia, and Galicia, and a foreign national team was invited. The following Autonomous Communities have played at least one friendly game:

Also,  Menorca has got a basketball team which plays biennially in the Island Games.

On the other hand, Gibraltar has its own national team recognized by FIBA Europe.  Gibraltar plays biannually in the European Basketball Championship for Small Countries and, like Menorca, the Island Games.

Other competitions

References

  1. ^ a b "Anuario de estadísticas deportivas 2019" (PDF). culturaydeporte.gob.es (in Spanish). Retrieved 13 April 2023.