The U Basketball League will have 15 teams and two groups

The Liga U basketball league will have 15 teams in its first season. The competition, created by the Spanish Federation and the ACB (Association of Basketball Associations) with the support of the Consejo Superior de Deportes (CSD), for youth 22 years and younger, with the aim of promoting athletic and academic development and stemming the flight of talent to American universities, will be held from October 10 to May 17, will conclude with a final six, and will host all the teams competing in the next ACB championship except Baskonia, Andorra, and Breogán, who have withdrawn from the tournament this coming season.

The 15 participants will be divided into two groups. Group A includes the eight teams with the best results in the Spanish Junior Championship over the last five years. They are Barça Atlètic, BAXI Manresa, Casademont Zaragoza, Fundación CB Canarias, Joventut Badalona, Real Madrid, Unicaja, and Valencia Basket. The other seven teams make up Group B: Bàsquet Girona, Bilbao Basket, Burgos Grupo de Santiago, Força Lleida, Gran Canaria, Stellantis & You Granada, and UCAM Murcia.

The competition system is labyrinthine. In the first phase, from October 10 to January 4, the teams in each group will play each other. After this 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 play-off will be played between the second and third-place teams in Group B and the seventh and sixth-place teams in Group A, respectively. The winners will complete Group B in the second phase from January 16 to April 19, when another 14-match round robin will be played. Group A will be played in a second phase from January 16 to April 19, in which the teams in each group will play another 14 matches. The top four in this phase will play in the six-match final, and the other two spots will come from another single-match play-off between the fifth and sixth-place teams in Group A and the second and first-place teams in Group B. The final, from May 15 to 17 at a venue to be determined, will feature three knockout ties. The first and second places of A await the winners of the quarterfinals in the semifinals.

In total, each team will play a minimum of 24 matches (mainly on Friday and Saturday mornings) and a maximum of 33 over eight months of competition.

Liga U aims to combine this athletic training with each player's academic training at universities or vocational training centers through a system of scholarships and grants, along with a budget of €15 million provided by the CSD (Spanish Sports Council), which will be supplemented by sponsors. Each team must have six players eligible for selection by Spain during the first two seasons and seven starting in 2027. The goal is to stem the exodus of young talent to American universities, which offer better conditions, especially financially. One of the latest examples is point guard Mario Saint-Supery, who was called up to the senior team for the Eurobasket and will play next season at Gonzaga University.