One Week to the Deadline: Where We Stand on the Open Letter

On Saturday 18th May, the British Basketball Fans Association (BBFA) issued an Open Letter to the BBF, SLB and GBBL, representing the voices of fans across the country and asking clear, constructive questions about the future of our game. The deadline for public responses is Friday 7th June — and now, with a week to go, we want to update our members and supporters on where things stand.

We were pleased to receive a response from the British Basketball Federation acknowledging the importance of our letter and affirming their commitment to reply publicly by the deadline:

Matt,

Thank you for taking the time to collate feedback and questions from the fan community.

We welcome this opportunity to connect directly with the people whose passion fuels the professional game, and we shall respond by the date you have suggested.

Best wishes,

The BBF

We welcome this acknowledgement and look forward to their full reply. The BBF plays a critical leadership role, and their willingness to engage with fans openly is a step in the right direction.

We also heard from Super League Basketball, who acknowledged receipt and committed to respond, while expressing interest in future dialogue:

Hi Matt,

Thank you for your email of the 18th May.

Please forgive the slight delay in acknowledging receipt thereof - we have been on tidy up since the event on Sunday (and taken a bit of a breather!).

I will ensure we will respond by the 7th June and then perhaps we can chat thereafter.

In the meantime I will be in touch if I require any advance dialogue/clarifications on the questions.

Kindest Regards

Andy Webb
Chief Operating Officer

We appreciate this reply from Andy Webb. As always, we will judge responses based on their content and transparency, but this is a constructive start.

The only response we’ve received from GBBL Ltd has come via their PR agency. Their statement once again offered only a private meeting, rather than any intention to provide a public reply:

“As mentioned previously, we will be happy to meet with the BBFA in person when we are in the UK rather than via published exchanges. We hope to be in the UK in the coming weeks.

“We are fully focused on our plans to deliver a top class product for British basketball fans from 2026 and will share news in due course.”

While we appreciate any willingness to engage, we must be honest: this is not enough.

The BBFA is a transparent, member-led organisation. We were created to give fans a collective voice — not to act as intermediaries behind closed doors. Every question in our letter came directly from supporters. If fans are truly seen as the most important stakeholders in British basketball, then they deserve public answers.

We do not represent ourselves. We represent the fans. And fans should not be shut out of the conversation about the sport they support.

We are holding to our original timeline. The deadline for responses remains Friday 7th June. We will publish any and all replies we receive in full. And we will continue to update our members as new developments unfold.

We remain open to constructive dialogue with all three bodies — but that dialogue must be transparent, accessible, and accountable to the wider basketball community.

British basketball is in a critical moment. The decisions made now will shape the next decade of the sport. That’s why fans must have a seat at the table — not in the hallway, waiting to be called in.

We are the BBFA. We speak together. We move forward together.