Dubai Basketball are joining the EuroLeague. Photo: ABA League/Dubai Basketball
Dubai Basketball are joining the EuroLeague. Photo: ABA League/Dubai Basketball
Dubai Basketball are joining the EuroLeague. Photo: ABA League/Dubai Basketball
Dubai Basketball are joining the EuroLeague. Photo: ABA League/Dubai Basketball

Dubai Basketball to join EuroLeague as 'dream becomes a reality'


Amith Passela
  • English
  • Arabic

Dubai Basketball will join the EuroLeague on a five-year contract from September 2025, just a year after being founded.

The competition, regarded as one of the toughest basketball leagues in the world, announced its expansion from 18 to 20 teams in late May.

Dubai Basketball has now been confirmed as one of the two new teams to secure a slot to play in the 2025/26 EuroLeague season.

In a stellar debut campaign in the ABA League – where the team reached the play-off semi-finals before being halted by Partizan – Dubai Basketball showed the huge potential for the sport in the emirate.

Not only did they excel on the court, they made the Coca-Cola Arena their home, attracting crowds in excess of 5,000 fans.

“I would like to extend my deepest gratitude to the leadership of Dubai and the Dubai Sports Council for their unwavering support,” Abdulla Saeed Juma Al Naboodah, chairman and Founder of Dubai Basketball, said.

“Their vision and commitment have been instrumental in making the success of Dubai Basketball possible.”

The team, under the stewardship of head coach Jurica Golemac, will now take a huge step forward in a competition boasting the elite of European basketball.

The move also deepens the UAE's ties with the EuroLeague, with the 2025 finals having been staged at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi in May.

  • Awudu Abass of Dubai Basketball scored from his own half at the end of the first quarter in the opening game of the ABA League against Red Star of Serbia at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai on Sunday, September 22, 2024. All images Chris Whiteoak / The National
    Awudu Abass of Dubai Basketball scored from his own half at the end of the first quarter in the opening game of the ABA League against Red Star of Serbia at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai on Sunday, September 22, 2024. All images Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • Nate Mason of Dubai Basketball scores at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai
    Nate Mason of Dubai Basketball scores at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai
  • Dubai Basketball defeated Red Star of Serbia 86-84
    Dubai Basketball defeated Red Star of Serbia 86-84
  • JaCorey Williams of Dubai Basketball during the ABA League match against Red Star
    JaCorey Williams of Dubai Basketball during the ABA League match against Red Star
  • Jurica Golemac, head coach of Dubai Basketball, speaks with captain Klemen Prepelic
    Jurica Golemac, head coach of Dubai Basketball, speaks with captain Klemen Prepelic
  • Dubai Basketball defeated Red Star in a tense clash in the ABA League
    Dubai Basketball defeated Red Star in a tense clash in the ABA League
  • Dejan Kamenjasevic, general manager and co-founder of Dubai Basketball, celebrates with players at the Coca-Cola Arena
    Dejan Kamenjasevic, general manager and co-founder of Dubai Basketball, celebrates with players at the Coca-Cola Arena

Istanbul giants Fenerbahce were crowned champions in front of a sold out arena on Yas Island.

As well as Fenerbahce, Dubai Basketball will face the likes of Real Madrid, FC Barcelona, Panathinaikos and Olympiacos as the club brings top-tier European basketball to Coca-Cola Arena from September 2025 to June 2026.

Co-Chief Executive Officer Dejan Kamenjasevic said this latest step follows years of hard work to get the project off the ground.

“Dubai Basketball is not an instant project – it has taken us years to reach the point we are in today,” he said.

“But it brings me great pride to say that this team is an instant success [on the court]. Credit goes to our coaches, players and all Dubai Basketball employees who worked hard to convert this dream to a reality.

“Now, with EuroLeague ahead, we have even more to show. We’re building something this city has never seen before, and we’re excited to make history while growing the Dubai Basketball family.”

In just their first season, Dubai Basketball attracted a total of nearly 80,000 fans to Coca-Cola Arena, paving the way for a new era for the sport in the emirate.

That fan base is expected to grow next season, with the team's home arena boasting a capacity of 15,000 in its basketball format.

Fans can register to attend 2025/26 season games through the Coca-Cola Arena website, with full season passes available in July.

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PROFILE OF SWVL

Started: April 2017

Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh

Based: Cairo, Egypt

Sector: transport

Size: 450 employees

Investment: approximately $80 million

Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani

Squads

India: Kohli (c), Rahul, Shaw, Agarwal, Pujara, Rahane, Vihari, Pant (wk), Ashwin, Jadeja, Kuldeep, Shami, Umesh, Siraj, Thakur

West Indies: Holder (c), Ambris, Bishoo, Brathwaite, Chase, Dowrich (wk), Gabriel, Hamilton, Hetmyer, Hope, Lewis, Paul, Powell, Roach, Warrican, Joseph

'C'mon C'mon'

Director:Mike Mills

Stars:Joaquin Phoenix, Gaby Hoffmann, Woody Norman

Rating: 4/5

SPECS

Engine: 4-litre V8 twin-turbo
Power: 630hp
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
Price: From Dh599,000
On sale: Now

Personalities on the Plate: The Lives and Minds of Animals We Eat

Barbara J King, University of Chicago Press 

Profile of Foodics

Founders: Ahmad AlZaini and Mosab AlOthmani

Based: Riyadh

Sector: Software

Employees: 150

Amount raised: $8m through seed and Series A - Series B raise ongoing

Funders: Raed Advanced Investment Co, Al-Riyadh Al Walid Investment Co, 500 Falcons, SWM Investment, AlShoaibah SPV, Faith Capital, Technology Investments Co, Savour Holding, Future Resources, Derayah Custody Co.

The Vile

Starring: Bdoor Mohammad, Jasem Alkharraz, Iman Tarik, Sarah Taibah

Director: Majid Al Ansari

Rating: 4/5

SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20SAMSUNG%20GALAXY%20Z%20FOLD5
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FROM%20THE%20ASHES
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F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

'Skin'

Dir: Guy Nattiv

Starring: Jamie Bell, Danielle McDonald, Bill Camp, Vera Farmiga

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Lexus LX700h specs

Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor

Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm

Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh590,000

Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

The burning issue

The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE. 

Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on

Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins

Read part two: how climate change drove the race for an alternative 

The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting 

2. Prayer 

3. Hajj 

4. Shahada 

5. Zakat 

 

 

The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
How being social media savvy can improve your well being

Next time when procastinating online remember that you can save thousands on paying for a personal trainer and a gym membership simply by watching YouTube videos and keeping up with the latest health tips and trends.

As social media apps are becoming more and more consumed by health experts and nutritionists who are using it to awareness and encourage patients to engage in physical activity.

Elizabeth Watson, a personal trainer from Stay Fit gym in Abu Dhabi suggests that “individuals can use social media as a means of keeping fit, there are a lot of great exercises you can do and train from experts at home just by watching videos on YouTube”.

Norlyn Torrena, a clinical nutritionist from Burjeel Hospital advises her clients to be more technologically active “most of my clients are so engaged with their phones that I advise them to download applications that offer health related services”.

Torrena said that “most people believe that dieting and keeping fit is boring”.

However, by using social media apps keeping fit means that people are “modern and are kept up to date with the latest heath tips and trends”.

“It can be a guide to a healthy lifestyle and exercise if used in the correct way, so I really encourage my clients to download health applications” said Mrs Torrena.

People can also connect with each other and exchange “tips and notes, it’s extremely healthy and fun”.

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Jetour T1 specs

Engine: 2-litre turbocharged

Power: 254hp

Torque: 390Nm

Price: From Dh126,000

Available: Now

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Updated: June 22, 2025, 8:53 AM