LONDON (Reuters) -The British Basketball Federation (BBF) has announced it will cease trading and begin liquidation proceedings due to a substantial and unexpected financial shortfall.
In a statement released on Friday, BBF said the decision was driven by “a significant and unanticipated reduction in income and unforeseen expenditure resulting in the company’s inability to meet its liabilities as they fall due.”
The governing body confirmed it is working with insolvency specialists Begbies Traynor to complete the liquidation process.
Despite the collapse, the immediate focus remains on safeguarding the Great Britain national teams and ensuring their participation in upcoming international competitions, the federation said.
“The immediate priority for all domestic basketball stakeholders is to work closely with the sport’s international governing body, FIBA, to ensure the ongoing stability and security of the Great Britain national teams,” the BBF said.
FIBA, the global governing body for the sport, pledged its backing.
“In these challenging times, FIBA stands alongside the British Basketball Federation, UK Government, and UK Sport, and remains dedicated to supporting BBF to restore its operations and secure its position as the basketball governing body in Great Britain,” the FIBA Taskforce said in a statement.
“To this extent, it is essential to ensure Great Britain’s optimal performance on the international stage, showcasing the very best of British basketball through its national teams.”
The home nations — Basketball England, Basketball Scotland, and Basketball Wales — also reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining Great Britain’s presence on the international stage.
“Clearly, this is a challenging time for our sport, but we… reaffirm our commitment to collaborate under the future GB framework,” they said in a joint statement.
UK Sport acknowledged that the BBF’s decision created uncertainty around the sport, but stressed their investment in the 3×3 programme remains unaffected.
“Our investment has been focused on the 3×3 programme and is unconnected to recent issues surrounding the licensing of the domestic club competition,” UK Sport said in a statement.
“We have taken robust steps throughout this period of uncertainty to safeguard public funds and to help enable GB teams to continue to compete.”
The liquidation marks the latest chapter in a turbulent period for British basketball governance, raising questions about the sport’s long-term stability and funding model.
The BBF was suspended by FIBA last month and its men’s team barred from international competition because of governance issues.
A task force was set up in August by FIBA to investigate “regulatory non-compliance” within British basketball after a power struggle between the BBF and Super League Basketball.
(Reporting by Lori EwingEditing by Christian Radnedge)
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