NBL grant licence for league expansion in 2019

Australia’s National Basketball League (NBL) has awarded a licence to Swansea City co-owner Romie Chaudhari, as the league looks to expand in the 2019/20 season.

With eight clubs currently in the competition, location for the competition’s ninth franchise yet to be determined.

Chaudhari is currently a small stakeholder in the New Zealand Breakers and wants to work with the NBL to find the best location.

“I’ve got to make sure that our players have a great place to train and to play,” he said.

“In order for us to be competitive in the league in our first year the infrastructure has to be right.”

NBL chief executive Jeremy Loeliger said the game is becoming increasingly popular and expansion needs to be addressed.

“We will now work with him to identify the most suitable location for the new team but we’ve already had huge interest from around the country as we look to meet demand and growing interest in the game,” he said.

The NBL is in negotiations for a new television deal and will be looking to secure both free-to-air and pay TV coverage to increase the league’s revenue.