The U League will start on October 10 with 15 teams.

The Liga U, organized jointly by the ACB and the FEB with the support of the Ministry of Education, Vocational Training and Sports and the Higher Sports Council, is taking shape for its first edition in the 2025-26 season.

The competition will feature 15 U22 teams (players born in 2004 or later) from the ACB clubs: Barça Atlètic, BAXI Manresa, Casademont Zaragoza, Fundación CB Canarias, Joventut Badalona, Real Madrid, Unicaja, and Valencia Basket (Group A), and Bàsquet Girona, Bilbao Basket, Burgos Grupo de Santiago, Força Lleida, Gran Canaria, Stellantis & You Granada, and UCAM Murcia (Group B).

The ACB clubs have overwhelmingly supported the new competition, which for the first time will facilitate and enhance academic life with sports training at the highest level. Thus, players will have guidance and scholarships that will allow them to combine their university or vocational training studies with a demanding competition tailored to their sporting needs.

The Liga U, for "U22," for "Universities," or for "unions" between all levels, and ultimately for the future, will begin on October 10 and will run until May 17, 2026, when a Final 6 will conclude to determine the first champion.

With the announcement of the teams and the competition system, the Liga U also debuts on social media with @Liga_U22, sharing the latest news about the competition and its teams.

Two groups per level and a minimum of 24 matches

The ACB and the FEB have designed a competition system designed to maximize the sporting development of players and teams, encouraging matches of similar competitive level and providing opportunities for all teams to grow during the competition.

This is what the 2025-26 Liga U will be like

To this end, two groups have been created, each differentiated by level. Group A will be the eight teams with the best cumulative results in the Spanish Junior Championship over the last five years, and Group B will be the other seven teams. In the first phase, between October 10 and January 4, the teams in each group will play each other (14 rounds).

At the end of this initial round, the first-place team in Group B will advance to Group A, from where the eighth-place team will be relegated. A single-match playoff will be held between the second and third-place teams in Group B and the seventh and sixth-place teams in Group A, respectively.

The winners of the playoff matches will complete Group A in a second phase between January 16 and April 19, in which the teams in each group will play another 14 rounds.

The top four teams in Group A will advance to the Final 6, and the last two spots will be determined by a single-match Play-In with the fifth and sixth-place teams from Group A facing off against the second and first-place teams from Group B, respectively.

The Final 6 will be played between May 15 and 17 at a venue to be determined, with three knockout rounds to determine the first champion. The first and second-place teams from Group A will face the winners of the quarterfinals in the semifinals, with matches on Friday the 15th between the third and fourth-place teams and the two Play-In winners. After the semifinal matches on Saturday, the grand final on Sunday the 17th will decide who lifts the first trophy.

In total, the 15 participating teams will play a minimum of 24 matches and a maximum of 33 over eight months of competition, always ensuring compatibility with academic training.