About the WBBL

LEICESTER RIDERS WOMEN

The Leicester Riders women’s basketball team was founded in 2011 and started off playing in the NBL Division Two. After one year in the league, the team gained promotion to Division One in which they finished fourth and earned a spot in the playoffs. For the 2013/14 season – the last in the NBL, the team finished fourth in the regular season and shocked England Basketball by winning their first-ever playoff title against the perennial champions Sheffield Hatters.  

The Riders joined the newly founded Women’s National Basketball League in 2014/15 and have made playoff appearances in every season. 2017/18 proved the Riders’ most successful season to date, after finishing with a 19-1 record and winning the WBBL Trophy Final. In club history, the Leicester Riders have won four Titles, including three consecutive Trophy Titles and the 2021 Cup Title against Sevenoaks Suns.

Through the establishment of the Loughborough Basketball Programme, players who compete in BUCS Premier are also able to represent the Leicester Riders in the WBBL.

THE WBBL

The Women’s British Basketball League (WBBL) is the top-level women’s basketball league in Great Britain, founded on 5 June 2014 as the women’s counterpart to the British Basketball League (BBL). The league’s headquarters are in Leicester alongside the offices of the men’s BBL.

Like the BBL, the organisation uses a franchise-based system so there is no promotion and relegation between the WBBL and the English Women’s Basketball League, which forms the lower divisions. Along with the WBBL Championship and the post-season Play-offs, it also runs two knockout competitions featuring all WBBL member teams – the WBBL Cup and WBBL Trophy.