MIES (Switzerland) - The city of Samokov, Bulgaria will return as the host of the two Qualification Round Tournaments for the 11th season of the Basketball Champions League, powered by Ameresco SUNEL.
The two tournaments with 24 participants will take place on September 14-20, 2026 in the same arena which hosted the Qualification Round Tournaments in 2025, continuing the successful partnership with Rilski Sportist and the Bulgarian Basketball Federation.
The tournaments will tip off on Monday, September 14, and conclude six days later, on Sunday, September 20, when the two tournament winners will earn their tickets to the Regular Season.
"We have always listened to our clubs, as they are one of the most important stakeholders in this organization. We've received nothing but positive feedback about Samokov last season, in fact, plenty of participating clubs were impressed with the level of quality of all the facilities there, including the practice gyms, hotels and the arena where the games took place," BCL CEO Patrick Comninos commented, adding:
"Bringing the Qualification Round Tournaments back to Samokov was the best possible solution, and we're looking forward to the stories just as incredible as the ones that saw Elan Chalon, Patrioti Levice and Bursaspor claim the three tickets last year."
The games will be played in the state of the art Samelyon Arena, built in 2025 with a capacity of 3,000, located 60 kilometers away from the Vasil Levski Sofia Airport.
Rilski Sportist, the hosts of the event, will be in the Qualification Round Tournament 2, alongside 15 other teams, while the Qualification Round Tournament 1 will feature eight national champions and finalists from countries not represented in the Regular Season.
The brackets for both Qualification Round Tournaments:
Qualification Round Tournament 1
Quarter-Finals QF1: Patrioti Levice (SVK) vs. Salon Vilpas (FIN) QF2: Bakken Bears Aarhus (DEN) vs. Landstede Hammers (NED) QF3: Fribourg Olympic Basket (SUI) vs. BC Batumi 2010 (GEO) QF4: CSM CSU Raiffeisen Oradea (ROU) vs. Petrolina AEK Larnaca (CYP)
Semi-Finals SF1: QF1 winner vs. QF2 winner SF2: QF3 winner vs. QF4 winner
The winner of QRT1 will join AEK BC (GRE), Falco KC Szombathely (HUN) and Windrose Giants Antwerp (BEL) in Group C of the Regular Season.
Qualification Round Tournament 2
Round of 16 1: VEF Riga (LAT) vs. Landau Lions (AZE) 2: BK Opava (CZE) vs. Dziki Warszawa (POL) 3: Fitness First Wurzburg Baskets (GER) vs. Manchester Basketball (GBR) 4: Rio Breogan Lugo (ESP) vs. Rilski Sportist (BUL) 5: Promitheas Patras BC (GRE) vs. BC Vienna (AUT) 6: Glint Manisa Basket (TUR) vs. Kolossos H Hotels (GRE) 7: SL Benfica (POR) vs. Lions de Geneve (SUI) 8: RASTA Vechta (GER) vs. Yukatel Denizli Basket (TUR)
Quarter-Finals QF1: Winner 1 vs. Winner 2 QF2: Winner 3 vs. Winner 4 QF3: Winner 5 vs. Winner 6 QF4: Winner 7 vs. Winner 8
Semi-Finals SF1: QF1 winner vs. QF2 winner SF2: QF3 winner vs. QF4 winner
The winner of QRT2 will join Hapoel Holon, Cholet Basket and Spartak Office Shoes in Group F of the Regular Season.
Season 11 of the BCL tips off on October 6, 2026.
### About Basketball Champions League The Basketball Champions League is an innovative joint partnership between FIBAClubCo and 11 top European leagues. It is a fair competition based on sporting principles with teams qualifying through their national leagues. For further information on the Basketball Champions League, visit championsleague.basketball or follow us on Facebook, X (Twitter), Instagram, YouTube, or LinkedIn.