“We have met with the clubs and told them: You know what? You have benefited, we have all benefited from this success that we have achieved. But now we have to start paying everyone. Because the federation cannot bear this cost... We have, so to speak, three clubs that receive 1 million euros a year. They have a budget of 1 million euros a year. 1.2 million euros from sponsorships. And that is without even counting their own revenues. If we are talking about a club of such scale, then it costs them nothing to give 20, 30, 40 or 50 thousand euros to start with,” Fetahu said.

This warning, issued by Kosovo Basketball Federation President Arben Fetahu on the SportCast program, became an official decision of the federation just a few days later.

The KBF has decided that Kosovo Basketball Superleague clubs will pay a €20,000 participation fee to compete in the Superleague, a figure several times higher than the €1,500 fee charged until now.

Representatives of Superleague clubs said the decision was unexpected and considered it a significant financial burden.

Lendrit Palushi, director of KB Ylli, told KosovaPress that the clubs had been informed in advance about the increase in the participation fee before the start of the season, but said the Kosovo Basketball Federation's justification for the decision was not entirely convincing. According to him, although the clubs can afford the payment, a more flexible payment arrangement would be more acceptable.

“We were informed a little earlier that we would have to pay a new participation fee, compared to previous seasons when it was €1,500, with the explanation that running or organizing the men's Superleague is costing the federation more. However, this amount is manageable for most clubs, since all the clubs operate with fairly good budgets. But the argument that the men's Superleague is costing the federation too much would perhaps not be a convincing reason, since most of the federation's sponsors come from the Superleague, perhaps even before the Kosovo national team... I don't believe that the other clubs would not be able to pay it. All of the clubs can pay that amount, but perhaps with a better agreement or more installments, because the federation has also offered the option of paying in two installments, while those who pay immediately receive a 20 percent discount,” Palushi said.

Meanwhile, Qëndrim Biraj, director of KB Bashkimi, described the Kosovo Basketball Federation's decision to increase the participation fee for Superleague clubs as unexpected. He said it represented a considerable financial burden, especially for clubs with more limited resources.

Meanwhile, KB Trepça representative Edin Vërbiqi said the FBK's latest decision to increase the participation fee was made to help the federation overcome its financial challenges, but warned that it would create additional difficulties for clubs on the eve of the new season.