Such an additional condition, adopted two days before the end of the licensing period, in the applicant’s opinion, may discriminate against “Atletas” – the only club funded solely by private sponsors, which is blocked from returning to the second strongest Lithuanian basketball championship after two years.
After evaluating the circumstances stated in the application, the Competition Council informed the “Lithuanian Basketball” association that the application of the mentioned additional criterion may pose risks of restricting competition.
After meetings with the institution’s experts, the association removed the additional mandatory licensing criterion and retained the previous licensing conditions, in which municipal funding for basketball clubs is not mandatory.
On August 11, “Atletas” was granted a license to participate in the upcoming NKL championship season.
Since the “Lithuanian Basketball” decision regarding the additional mandatory licensing criterion was valid for a short time and was later revoked, the Competition Council decided not to initiate an investigation.
“Atletas” has faced problems regarding the right to compete in the NKL more than once, and the club waited two years for the right to return to the championship.
The club was supposed to play in the 2024–2025 NKL season, but after the basketball federation took over the NKL organizing rights and the licensing procedure changed, “Atletas” license was revoked.
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As reported in the press, this decision was linked to a pre-trial investigation conducted against the club for possible manipulation of competition results and related negative public information.
In June 2025, NKL decided not to license “Atletas” for the 2025–2026 season, and the club appealed this decision to the court.
In January this year, the Kaunas District Court annulled the NKL decision, noting procedural violations and stating that “Atletas” reputation met the required standards.
NKL appealed this decision, but the appellate court rejected it and upheld the first instance ruling.
NKL is the second strongest Lithuanian club basketball tournament, established in 2005.
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