EuroLeague Women

FIBA EuroLeague Women
Organising body	FIBA Europe
First season	1958
Region	Europe
Number of teams	16 (group stage)
Level on pyramid	Top women's league in Europe
Related competitions	EuroCup Women
Current champions	Fenerbahçe; (2nd title)
Most championships	Daugava Riga; (18 titles)
Website	FIBA.Basketball/EuroLeagueWomen
	2023–24 EuroLeague Women

The EuroLeague Women (officially known as the FIBA EuroLeague Women) is the pre-eminent basketball league in Europe for women's basketball clubs.

Unlike the EuroLeague Men, the competition is entirely organized by FIBA Europe.

History edit

EuroLeague Women is the main women's club basketball competition in Europe.

First established by FIBA in September 1958, the inaugural European women's club competition consisted of 10 teams and came about following the success of an equivalent tournament for men's clubs earlier in the same year. The men's tournament consisted of 46 games, with over 100,000 spectators turning out to watch.

At the initial tournament Slavia Sofia of Bulgaria were crowned champions, beating Soviet Dynamo Moscow 64–40 at home and then 44–34 on the Muscovites court. The two-game home-and-away format for the final remained until 1976, before changing to a single-game format the following year.

During its formative years, the tournament was dominated by Daugava Riga from Latvia (then Soviet Union) who appeared in 16 finals between 1960 and 1977, winning all 16 of them. The Latvian club maintains two records that are difficult to see being bettered, with 18 overall titles, as well as the record for winning 12 consecutive championships.

In the nineties, the competition underwent two key changes. The first was the introduction of the Final Four in 1992; and the second was the rebranding of the competition in 1996, when it went from being known as European Cup for Women's Champion Clubs to what it is known as today: EuroLeague Women.

The Final Four format was given its farewell in Ekaterinburg in 2011, when Halcón Avenida defeated Spartak Moscow Region 68–59; before the 2011/2012 season heralded in a new direction for EuroLeague Women with the Final Four replaced by a Final Eight tournament.

Istanbul were granted the honour of hosting the first Final Eight tournament where Spanish club Ros Casares Valencia prevailed victorious, defeating Rivas Ecópolis 65–52 in the final. In its second year, the EuroLeague Women Final Eight moved to Ekaterinburg, where tournament hosts UMMC Ekaterinburg prevailed 82–56 over Fenerbahçe in the final.

In 2014, Ekaterinburg was once again the host of what would ultimately be the final edition of the Final Eight, with the tournament destined to return to a Final Four format for this season. After shocking the home-town favourites UMMC Ekaterinburg in the semi-finals, Galatasaray then went on to become the first Turkish club to lift the title, defeating cross-city rival Fenerbahçe 69–58 in the gold medal game.

In February 2022, the Russian teams and officials were expelled from the tournament by FIBA for the playoffs due to the country's invasion of Ukraine.^[1] EuroLeague Women suspended Russian clubs UMMC Ekaterinburg, Dynamo Kursk, and MBA Moscow.^[2]

Names of the competition edit

FIBA Women's European Champions Cup: (1958–1996)
EuroLeague Women: (1996–present)

Format edit

2004–2011 edit

The 24 clubs were divided into four groups of six teams, each with home and away games.

The four best-placed clubs in each group qualified for the eighth-final play-offs.

The Eighth-finals were established according to the standings (games won, games lost, goal-average) of each team in the preliminary round. This round was played in a home and away game.

The winners of the eighth-final round qualified for the quarter-final round.

The winners of the quarter-final round qualified for the Final Four, organized by one of the qualified clubs. The semi-finals were played on a Friday and the finals on a Sunday.

2011–2014 edit

The teams were split in three groups, which played each other home and away.

The best team qualified directly to the Final Eight, whereas the next best 14 teams advanced to a play-off round. The Final Eight was played over two groups in a single venue, with the best teams advancing to the Final Four.

2014–present edit

The teams are divided into two groups, each with home and away games. The top four teams from each group advance to the quarter-finals, played over three games, and the winners advance to the Final Four.

For the 2020–21 season, teams were divided into four groups of four teams. The two-group format returned for the 2021–22 season.

Results edit

1958-1996: FIBA Women's European Champions Cup
1997-Ongoing: EuroLeague Women

#	Year	Champion	Score	Runners-up
#	Year	Final				Third and fourth place
Have not a third place match / Semifinal losers
1	1958–59 Details	Slavia Sofia	97–84 63–40 / 34–44	Dynamo Moscow		Spartak Sokolovo	Crvena zvezda
2	1959–60 Details	Daugava Rīga	111–71 62–28 / 49–43	Slavia Sofia		Slovan Orbis Prague	Crvena zvezda
3	1960–61 Details	Daugava Rīga	148–114 76–77 / 72–37	Slovan Orbis Prague		USK Tartu	Academic
4	1961–62 Details	Daugava Rīga	103–82 55–38 / 48–44	Spartak Leningrad		Slovan Orbis Prague	Radnički Belgrade
5	1962–63 Details	Slavia Sofia	112–106 52–57 / 60–49	Slovan Orbis Prague		Daugava Rīga	MTK
6	1963–64 Details	Daugava Rīga	103–101 63–58 / 40–43	Spartak Sokolovo		Slavia Sofia	Crvena zvezda
7	1964–65 Details	Daugava Rīga	101–93 49–31 / 52–62	Slavia Sofia		Wisła Kraków	Slovan Orbis Prague
8	1965–66 Details	Daugava Rīga	135–95 62–39 / 73–56	Slovan Orbis Prague		Wisła Kraków	Slavia Sofia
9	1966–67 Details	Daugava Rīga	111–93 56–41 / 55–52	Sparta Prague		Academic	Wisła Kraków
10	1967–68 Details	Daugava Rīga	134–92 76–45 / 58–47	Sparta Prague		Łódź	Recoaro Vicenza
11	1968–69 Details	Daugava Rīga	144–105 62–48 / 82–57	Chemie Halle		Politehnica București	Academic
12	1969–70 Details	Daugava Rīga	120–87 61–45 / 59–42	Wisła Kraków		Academic	Sparta Prague
13	1970–71 Details	Daugava Rīga	134–115 72–59 / 62–56	Clermont		Academic	Wisła Kraków
14	1971–72 Details	Daugava Rīga	166–118 80–59 / 86–59	Sparta Prague		Geas	Clermont
15	1972–73 Details	Daugava Rīga	147–104 64–44 / 83–60	Clermont		Sparta Prague	Geas
16	1973–74 Details	Daugava Rīga	164–120 96–67 / 69–53	Clermont		Łódź	Politehnica București
17	1974–75 Details	Daugava Rīga	159–115 87–59 / 72–56	Sparta Prague		Geas	Clermont
18	1975–76 Details	Sparta Prague	132–115 55–58 / 77–57	Clermont		Geas	Academic
19	1976–77 Details	Daugava Rīga	76–53	Clermont		Geas	Sparta Prague
20	1977–78 Details	Sesto Geas	74–66	Sparta Prague		Crvena zvezda	Minyor Pernik
21	1978–79 Details	Crvena zvezda	97–62	BSE		Minyor Pernik	Sesto Geas
22	1979–80 Details	FIAT	75–66	Minyor Pernik		BOB Oud-Beijerland	Crvena zvezda
23	1980–81 Details	Daugava Rīga	83–65	Crvena zvezda		Levski-Spartak	Accorsi FIAT
24	1981–82 Details	Daugava Rīga	78–56	Minyor Pernik		Pagnossin Treviso	BSE
25	1982–83 Details	Zolu Vicenza	76–67	Agon 08 Düsseldorf		Monting	Daugava Rīga
26	1983–84 Details	Levski Sofia	82–77	Zolu Vicenza		VŠ Praha	Tungsram
27	1984–85 Details	Fiorella Vicenza	63–55	Daugava Rīga		Agon 08 Düsseldorf	Levski-Spartak
28	1985–86 Details	Primigi Vicenza	71–57	Agon 08 Düsseldorf		CSKA Moscow	Levski-Spartak
29	1986–87 Details	Primigi Vicenza	86–73	Dynamo Novosibirsk		Agon 08 Düsseldorf	Levski-Spartak
Round format
30	1987–88 Details	Primigi Vicenza	70–64	Dynamo Novosibirsk		Jedinstvo Tuzla	Agon 08 Düsseldorf
31	1988–89 Details	Jedinstvo Tuzla	74–70	Primigi Vicenza		Dynamo Novosibirsk	Astarac Mirande
32	1989–90 Details	Enimont Libertas Trogylos	86–71	CSKA Moscow		Crvena zvezda	Astarac Mirande
33	1990–91 Details	Conad Cesena	84–66	Arvika		Sporting	Elektrosila
Have a third place match
34	1991–92 Details	Dorna Godella	66–56	Dynamo Kyiv		Pool Comense	Sporting
35	1992–93 Details	Dorna Godella	66–58	Pool Comense		Challes-les-Eaux	Ružomberok
36	1993–94 Details	Pool Comense	79–68	Dorna Godella		Olimpia Poznań	GoldZack Wuppertal
37	1994–95 Details	Pool Comense	64–57	Dorna Godella		CSKA Moscow	Valenciennes Olympic
38	1995–96 Details	Wuppertal	76–62	Pool Comense		Ružomberok	Bourges
39	1996–97 Details	Bourges	71–52	Wuppertal		Ružomberok	Pool Comense
40	1997–98 Details	Bourges	76–64	Pool Getafe		Pool Comense	Valenciennes Olympic
41	1998–99 Details	Ružomberok	63–48	Pool Comense		Galatasaray	Wuppertal
42	1999–00 Details	Ružomberok	67–64	Bourges		Gambrinus BVV Brno	Dynamo Moscow
43	2000–01 Details	Bourges	73–71	Valenciennes Olympic		Pécs	Gambrinus Brno
44	2001–02 Details	Valenciennes Olympic	78–72	Lotos VBW Clima Gdynia		Lavezzini Parma	Ružomberok
45	2002–03 Details	UMMC Ekaterinburg	82–80	Valenciennes Olympic		Gambrinus Brno	Bourges
46	2003–04 Details	Valenciennes Olympic	93–69	Lotos VBW Clima Gdynia		Pécs	Gambrinus Brno
47	2004–05 Details	VBM-SGAU Samara	69–66	Gambrinus Brno		Lietuvos Telekomas	Pécs
48	2005–06 Details	Gambrinus Brno	68–54	VBM-SGAU Samara		Valenciennes Olympic	Lietuvos Telekomas
49	2006–07 Details	Spartak Moscow Region	76–62	Ros Casares Valencia		CSKA Samara	Bourges
50	2007–08 Details	Spartak Moscow Region	75–60	Gambrinus Brno		UMMC Ekaterinburg	Bourges
51	2008–09 Details	Spartak Moscow Region	85–70	Avenida		UMMC Ekaterinburg	Euroleasing Sopron
52	2009–10 Details	Spartak Moscow Region	87–80	Ros Casares Valencia		UMMC Ekaterinburg	Can Pack Wisła Kraków
53	2010–11 Details	Halcón Avenida	68–59	Spartak Moscow Region		UMMC Ekaterinburg	Ros Casares Valencia
54	2011–12 Details	Ros Casares Valencia	65–52	Rivas Ecópolis		UMMC Ekaterinburg	Fenerbahçe
55	2012–13 Details	UMMC Ekaterinburg	82–56	Fenerbahçe		Bourges	Good Angels Košice
56	2013–14 Details	Galatasaray	69–58	Fenerbahçe		UMMC Ekaterinburg	Bourges
57	2014–15 Details	USK Praha	72–68	UMMC Ekaterinburg		Dynamo Kursk	Fenerbahçe
58	2015–16 Details	UMMC Ekaterinburg	72–69	Nadezhda Orenburg		Fenerbahçe	USK Praha
59	2016–17 Details	Dynamo Kursk	77–63	Fenerbahçe		UMMC Ekaterinburg	USK Praha
60	2017–18 Details	UMMC Ekaterinburg	72–53	Sopron Basket		Dynamo Kursk	Yakın Doğu Üniversitesi
61	2018–19 Details	UMMC Ekaterinburg	91–67	Dynamo Kursk		ZVVZ USK Praha	Sopron Basket
-	2019–20 Details	Curtailed and voided due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
62	2020–21 Details	UMMC Ekaterinburg	78–68	Perfumerías Avenida			Fenerbahçe	Sopron Basket
63	2021–22 Details	Sopron Basket	60–55	Fenerbahçe	Perfumerías Avenida		ZVVZ USK Praha
64	2022–23 Details	Fenerbahçe	99–60	ÇBK Mersin Yenişehir Bld.	Beretta Famila Schio		ZVVZ USK Praha
65	2023–24 Details	Fenerbahçe	106–73	ESBVA-LM	ZVVZ USK Praha		ÇBK Mersin Yenişehir Bld.

Statistics edit

Medals by country edit


Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	Soviet Union	18	6	5	29
2	Russia	12	5	11	28
3	Italy	11	5	13	29
4	France	5	9	5	19
5	Spain	4	8	1	13
6	Turkey	3	5	3	11
7	Bulgaria	3	4	14	21
8	Czech Republic	2	2	4	8
9	Yugoslavia	2	1	9	12
10	Slovakia	2	0	2	4
11	Czechoslovakia	1	9	8	18
12	Germany	1	3	2	6
13	Hungary	1	2	5	8
14	Poland	0	3	7	10
15	CIS	0	1	0	1
	East Germany	0	1	0	1
	Sweden	0	1	0	1
18	Romania	0	0	2	2
19	Greece	0	0	1	1
	Lithuania	0	0	1	1
	Netherlands	0	0	1	1
Totals (21 entries)		65	65	94	224

Semifinal losers from 1958–1987 considered as bronze.

Titles by club edit

Rank	Club	Winners	Runners-up
1	Daugava Rīga	18	1
2	UMMC Ekaterinburg	6	1
3	Vicenza	5	2
4	Spartak Moscow Region	4	1
5	CJM Bourges Basket	3	1
6	Fenerbahçe	2	4
7	CB Godella-Pool Getafe	2	3
7	Pool Comense 1872	2	3
9	Valenciennes Olympic	2	2
9	Slavia Sofia	2	2
11	Ružomberok	2	0
12	Sparta Prague	1	6
13	Brno	1	2
13	Avenida	1	2
13	Ros Casares Valencia	1	2
16	Wuppertal Wings	1	1
16	Crvena zvezda	1	1
16	VBM-SGAU Samara	1	1
16	Dynamo Kursk	1	1
16	Sopron Basket	1	1
21	Levski Sofia	1	0
21	FIAT	1	0
21	Unicar Cesena	1	0
21	GS Trogylos Basket Priolo	1	0
21	Sesto San Giovanni	1	0
21	Jedinstvo Tuzla	1	0
21	Galatasaray	1	0
21	USK Praha	1	0

Stats leaders edit

Season	Top scorer	PPG	Top rebounder	RPG	Top assistant	APG
1991–92	Razija Mujanović	27.3	Razija Mujanović	9.1	Corinne Benintendi	2.7
1992–93	Yelena Khudashova	24.8	Katrina Johnson	11.6	Corinne Benintendi	5.1
1993–94	Razija Mujanović	20.4	Katrina Johnson	12.7	Corinne Benintendi	5.2
1994–95	Clarissa Davis	30.5	Yelena Baranova	9.9	Teresa Weatherspoon	6.0
1995–96	Clarissa Davis	25.9	Venus Lacy	12.7	Svetlana Antipova	6.6
1996–97	Yolanda Griffith	24.7	Yolanda Griffith	17.1	Michele Timms	5.7
1997–98	Jennifer Gillom	21.8	Maria Stepanova	12.4	Lyudmila Konovalova	5.9
1998–99	Sandy Brondello	19.5	Marlies Askamp	12.3	Ana Belén Álvaro	4.8
1999–00	Mila Nikolić	19.1	Margo Dydek	10.6	Aluma Goren	4.4
2000–01	Ann Wauters	20.9	Margo Dydek	10.7	Iveta Bieliková	5.7
2001–02	Albena Branzova	20.8	Yolanda Griffith	11.5	Ticha Penicheiro	5.3
2002–03	Ana Joković	21.1	Margo Dydek	10.4	Audrey Sauret-Gillespie	4.8
2003–04	Gordana Grubin	20.5	Maria Stepanova	12.2	Kristi Willoughby	5.9
2004–05	Katie Douglas	20.4	Michelle Snow	13.6	Dalma Iványi	6.9
2005–06	Katie Douglas	20.8	Rebekkah Brunson	11.3	Caroline Aubert	6.1
2006–07	Tina Thompson	21.1	DeLisha Milton-Jones	10.9	Caroline Aubert	6.0
2007–08	Lauren Jackson	23.6	Nicole Ohlde	9.5	Dalma Iványi	5.7
2008–09	Diana Taurasi	20.5	Laura Harper	12.0	Dalma Iványi	7.5
2009–10	Diana Taurasi	24.9	Candice Dupree	11.0	Anđa Jelavić	6.7
2010–11	Penny Taylor	19.2	Cheryl Ford	14.2	Dalma Iványi	5.4
2011–12	Diana Taurasi	20.9	Cheryl Ford	11.9	Sharnee Zoll-Norman	6.6
2012–13	Tina Charles	24.0	Tina Charles	12.5	Laia Palau	6.4
2013–14	Jantel Lavender	20.3	Luca Ivanković	11.1	Laia Palau	6.8
2014–15	Nneka Ogwumike	19.5	Candace Parker	11.0	Laia Palau	7.1
2015–16	Diana Taurasi	20.9	Crystal Langhorne	10.8	Laia Palau	7.1
2016–17	Yvonne Turner	18.8	Nneka Ogwumike	10.2	Laia Palau	7.8
2017–18	Kayla McBride	18.7	Jantel Lavender	8.6	Courtney Vandersloot	9.0
2018–19	Breanna Stewart	21.0	Brionna Jones	10.9	Amel Bouderra	6.9
2019–20	Alina Iagupova	21.3	Alyssa Thomas	11.4	Courtney Vandersloot	7.1
2020–21	Alina Iagupova	20.0	Clarissa Dos Santos	12.3	Courtney Vandersloot	7.6
2021–22	Kahleah Copper	21.4	Natasha Howard	11.0	Pelin Bilgiç	6.4
2022–23	Megan Gustafson	22.6	Stephanie Mavunga	12.5	Erica Wheeler	7.4
2023–24	Emma Meesseman	17.9	Elin Gustavsson	9.2	Morgan Green	6.7