Virtus Roma drops out of Euroleague

Officials from Italian Serie A club ACEA Virtus Roma have revealed that the team will not compete in the 2013/2014 Euroleague season despite the fact the club has the right to do so. The Roma board made the announcement before the list of participating teams was finalized for the upcoming campaign in Europe’s premier Basketball competition.

Virtus Roma officials held a press conference in Italy confirming that the club would not participate in Euroleague next season. The officials said that two years ago the club embarked on a new restructuring project that it had not expected to reap rewards so soon. In other words, the board had not anticipated that the team would qualify for the Euroleague competition so soon after launching the project.

The Virtus Roma team finished runner-up in the Italian championship, losing out to Montepaschi Siena. The successful season means that the team earned a B-license to compete in the Euroleague as stated by the Euroleague 2013/2014 allocation criteria. However, the club has revealed that it is simply not ready to meet bylaws for the competition that all teams must adhere to.

Officials said that the club would fail to meet several of the competition criteria, including a minimum seating capacity rule. Instead, Virtus Roma will continue with a step-by-step plan for rebuilding with the goal to compete in the Turkish Airlines Euroleague in the future. The club did not say when it would be ready to step into Europe’s main competition, but it has asked for a wildcard entry into this season’s Eurocup competition.