The sports minister, Stephanie Peacock, has asked the government body responsible for elite funding, UK Sport, to investigate allegations of unlawful tender made against the British Basketball Federation. On Wednesday, the BBF signed a 15‑year agreement with an American consortium to operate a new men’s professional league from 2026.
The existing nine Super League Basketball clubs are deeply unhappy with the BBF’s plans for the sport. On their behalf Vaughn Millette, the Sheffield Sharks owner, wrote in February to the government after the BBF had entered exclusive negotiations with Marshall Glickman’s GBB League Ltd (GBBL), to outline their concerns.
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In a reply seen by the Guardian, Peacock describes the issues raised in the letter as varying between “serious” and “potentially criminal” and that officials from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport will ask UK Sport to investigate.
The allegations are understood to revolve around the legality of the BBF’s tender process for operating the new league. SLB had been expected to make a bid to run the league itself, but club sources say it was advised not to on legal grounds.
“Some of the matters you raise in your letter are serious and some are potentially criminal in nature,” Peacock wrote in response to the clubs’ concerns. “The Code for Sports Governance sets out the mandatory governance requirements for organisations receiving public funding from UK Sport or Sport England. DCMS officials will raise the concerns you have set out to UK Sport and Sport England to ensure all of the processes under the code are being complied with.”
The BBF confirmed the new deal with Glickman’s group on Wednesday morning, igniting a civil war in the sport that could jeopardise some of the £4.75m in public money basketball receives each year from UK Sport and Sport England, which are responsible for elite and grassroots funding respectively.
In response Super League Basketball released a statement in which it threatened to set up a breakaway league in defiance of the governing body, and accused the BBF of running an illegal tender process.
“The new league operator proposed by the British Basketball Federation has no clubs, fans, arenas or expertise to build the infrastructure and future that British basketball and its communities deserve,” an SLB spokesperson said.
“Super League Basketball has been clear from the outset that the tender process undertaken by the British Basketball Federation was illegal and unjust.
“SLB would like to make clear that it does not legally require the BBF licence to continue to operate the professional basketball league in Britain. SLB clubs and their owners have worked tirelessly and invested well over £15m this season alone to create a sustainable future for professional basketball in Britain, its fans and the communities it serves. All nine partner clubs are united in the vision to continue operating a stable and viable league for the 2025-26 SLB season and beyond.”
The BBF has consistently denied claims that it has acted improperly. On Thursday, responding to the Guardian’s story, a BBF spokersperson said: “At the BBF, we take our responsibilities to make the right choices for the right reasons very seriously and that’s why we openly advertised this opportunity to operate and develop the men’s league. The federation has been advised throughout the process by a specialist law firm. The assessment of bids was carried out by an independent majority panel. Every key decision has been taken with the involvement of all 12 members of the board, representing every part of the game.
“The chairs of Basketball England, Basketball Scotland, and Basketball Wales have written to UK Sport confirming that they have been informed and involved throughout and that they believe this process serves the best interests of the game across the whole of Great Britain. The exercise through which the BBF is awarding a long-term licence to operate the men’s professional league is pivotal to the future of the game after decades of underachievement. We remain confident that the current SLB clubs, who chose not to bid for the licence, will benefit from participating in a league underpinned by the expertise and resources that the new operator will bring, and driven by their vision and ambition for British basketball.”
In her letter to the clubs, Peacock suggested appointing an independent mediator if there was insufficient evidence to warrant a criminal investigation into the agreement.
“Should none of the issues you raised be an issue for the police, and should UK Sport and Sport England set out that they do not have subsequent concerns about the BBF’s governance, DCMS cannot get involved in commercial disputes between two private parties where there is no criminality and where there has been no misuse of public funds,” the sports minister wrote.
“Were this to be the case and no agreement between the SLB and BBF is reached, then we suggest that both parties enter independent arbitration. We hope that everyone would agree that the survival of a sustainable professional league is the priority and best outcome for the future of basketball in this country, from the elite level to the grassroots game.”
