AS Monaco will not play in National 1 this season. The federal board of the French Basketball Federation refused the club from the Principality’s entry on Saturday, following the unfavorable opinion of the Management Control Commission. A decision that comes as Monaco had already begun building its squad for NM1.
The AS Monaco Basketball project has suffered another setback. After rejections of entry into Betclic Elite and then Elite 2, the federal board of the French Basketball Federation also rejected on Saturday the club’s request to compete in National 1 (NM1). The decision comes just days before the start of the season in this division.
The FFBB followed the recommendations of the Management Control Commission (CCG), whose opinion was unfavorable to AS Monaco’s integration. The commission had notably found that the club had not been able to compile a file justifying the sincerity and reliability of the company’s financial situation.
The federal body considered that no exceptional measures could be justified without compromising the integrity and fairness of its competitions. The refusal thus deprives AS Monaco basketball, for the moment, of any professional or semi-professional competition for the upcoming season.
Monaco had nonetheless begun building its National 1 team
The FFBB’s decision comes as AS Monaco had actively prepared for a potential NM1 season over the past few days. The club had begun building a squad and several signings had been recorded.
Axel Toupane and Kenny Kasiama had notably joined the Monégasque project. Luka Asceric had also given his agreement, while a fourth American reinforcement who played for Rouen in 2025-2026 was announced.
These moves reflected the desire to build a team with significant resources for the third French division. Axel Toupane notably has experience in the NBA, EuroLeague and the French national team. Luka Asceric had, for his part, played last season for BC Vienna.
AS Monaco had therefore begun concretely preparing its season while the National 1 entry had not yet been definitively validated by the Federation. The decision made on Saturday thus represents another difficulty for an organization that had already committed human and financial resources in the perspective of this participation.
According to a source with knowledge of the file, the projected budget was to be between 4 and 5 million euros, representing an envelope in the upper range for a National 1 club. The arrival of a new European investor was notably meant to support this project.
The new owner had also begun structuring his project. According to information communicated this week, Swiss Montana AG, led by Thomas Kurk, had taken over 97% of the club’s shares. The AS Monaco association retained 2%, while the Principality held 1% via the National Financing Company.
Oleksiy Yefimov was to retain his position as executive director and participated in building the new squad. The duo Sergii Gladyr – Manuchar Markoishvili was also being considered to remain in charge of the team.
A decision that comes just days before the restart
The schedule now makes the situation particularly uncertain. National 1 is to begin next Friday, while AS Monaco no longer has the necessary validation to enter the competition.
The Roca Team club had announced on September 1st its desire to undertake a refoundation of its sports, economic and societal project after its departure from professional sport. A few days later, recruitment had begun to take shape. The FFBB’s refusal now calls into question this entire construction.
AS Monaco thus finds itself without a championship for the new season and must now determine what steps to take in response to the federal decision. A possible appeal could be considered, but the schedule leaves very little time for the club to find a solution.
The refusal of National 1 is above all another setback following decisions that prevented Monaco from participating in Betclic Elite, of which it is the defending champion and Elite 2. The Principality club, French champion in 2026, finalist of the Euroleague in 2025 and winner of the Eurocup in 2021, sees its sports future called into question.
The building of the squad, undertaken this week, is now suspended following the decision of the French Basketball Federation.
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