Bahrain basketball set for new era with revamped league and cup formats

TDT | Manama

Email: mail@newsofbahrain.com

Bahrain basketball is set for a new era after the Bahrain Basketball Association introduced major changes to the formats of the Zain Basketball League and Khalifa bin Salman Cup for the 2026-2027 season.

The new regulations bring changes to playoff structures, professional player usage and the route to the championship, with the aim of creating more competitive contests and raising the overall standard of domestic basketball.

The Zain Basketball League will continue under a single-division format featuring all participating clubs, with the preliminary stage consisting of two rounds. During this phase, teams will be allowed to use three professional players under a system of one professional player on the court and two on the bench.

The top eight teams in the standings will advance to the quarter-finals, where the league leaders will face eighth place, second will meet seventh, third will take on sixth, and fourth will play fifth.

These ties will be contested in a best-of-three format, with the first team to secure two victories progressing to the next stage. From the quarter-finals onwards, clubs will be permitted to use three professionals under a two-on-court, one-on-bench system.

The semi-finals will be played in a best-of-five format, with the winner of the first-versus-eighth-place tie facing the winner of the fourth-versus-fifth matchup. Meanwhile, the winner of the second-versus-seventh tie will meet the winner of the third-versus-sixth clash.

The league champion will then be crowned through a best-of-five final series, with the title going to the first team to record three victories.

The new season arrives with Muharraq aiming to maintain their recent dominance after securing back-to-back Zain Bahrain Basketball League titles last April. Their triumph completed a historic domestic treble during the 2025-2026 season, highlighting their strength across Bahrain’s major competitions.

However, Manama remain the most decorated club in the Kingdom’s basketball history. The capital side lead the all-time honours list with a record 25 Premier League championships, followed by Al Ahli with 20 titles and Muharraq with five.

The association has also confirmed the format for the Khalifa bin Salman Cup, with teams finishing from first to seventh place in the league standings earning direct qualification to the quarter-finals.

The remaining quarter-final place will be decided through a preliminary playoff, with eighth place facing 11th and ninth meeting 10th before the winners compete for the final qualification spot.

The cup competition will follow the same professional-player regulations, with clubs allowed to register three professionals and use two on the court while one remains on the bench from the preliminary stage through to the final.

In the quarter-finals, the first-placed team will lead Group A and the second-placed team will lead Group B, while the remaining qualified teams will be determined through a draw. Matches at this stage will be played as single-elimination fixtures.

The semi-finals will then be contested in a best-of-three format, with the winners advancing to a one-match final to determine the 2026-2027 Khalifa bin Salman Cup champions.