This new competition was officially announced for launch in 2027, although its founders (Geoff Prentice, Grady Burnett and Alana Beard) initially intended it to begin in 2026. The tournament is being created so WNBA players and the best players in Europe can continue competing, theoretically at the highest level, without overlapping with the American league, although its schedule directly clashes with the European system.
Not much information about the tournament is currently available, despite its scheduled start in January 2027. It is known that there will be a training camp and a draft in South Korea from January 6 to 12. In addition, the three venues hosting the competition will be Hangzhou (China), from January 19 to 24; Valencia, from March 12 to 21; and Tokyo, where the tournament will conclude from March 26 to April 4.
SPORTING QUESTIONS
There were initially supposed to be six teams of 11 players, but the number has ultimately been reduced to four squads. This suggests that the project has not gone entirely according to its original plans.
What is known about the sporting side is as follows. Each team will have a captain, who will be joined by a coach and a general manager. The draft will then be held to build the teams with the 62 remaining players, as it has been confirmed that 66 players in total will compete.
Following the draft, the rosters will remain completely set until the end of the season, and the teams will be reset from scratch once the campaign ends. In addition, the players' contracts are signed with the competition rather than with the teams.
The list of players confirmed so far is as follows: Leo Fiebich, Juste Jocyte, Kamilla Cardoso, Li Meng, Janelle Salaün, Jonquel Jones, Jewell Loyd, Alyssa Thomas, Sophie Cunningham, Kelsey Mitchell, Nneka Ogwumike, Mai Yamamoto, Awa Fam, Alanna Smith, Antonia Delaere, Brionna Jones, Betnijah Laney-Hamilton, Valeriane Ayayi, Angela Dugalic, Makayla Timpson, Park Jihyun and Mariona Ortiz.
FINANCIAL POWER AND CONTROVERSIES
The project has significant financial backing, with figures such as Novak Djokovic, Lauren Jackson, Steve Young and Candace Parker, among others, behind it, as well as support from various investment groups. The fact that players could earn around $240,000 for three months of competition—an amount European teams cannot afford—makes it highly attractive to any professional.
In addition, the founders claimed that they would offer the highest salaries in international women's sports. This is also linked to the fact that there will be no men's competition in the project, despite that having been among their initial plans.
Project B has not been free of controversy because, according to reports by the Financial Times, there are links between the project and Sela, Saudi Arabia's leading sports investment fund. The company is owned by the PIF and its role is to whitewash the Asian country's image in the West, although Burnett said it is not an investor but an events partner.
With three months to go before the new competition begins, more than half of the participating players have yet to be announced, and most of its initial plans have either failed or been scaled back ahead of the tournament's launch. Beyond its considerable financial potential, this ambitious new project appears to be facing serious sporting problems.
