OPINION By Gary Chappell
IF NABBA get right their plans for a Pro League in 2026 it would be the biggest shake up in British bodybuilding for years.
On Tuesday, NABBA put out news on social media via new vice-chairman Tim Rosiek that all this season's area shows would offer pro cards to male and female overall winners. Not only that, but if judges and organisers felt a particular athlete was good enough, they too would be awarded pro status.
The key was in the detail of what Rosiek revealed next. The reason for this, he revealed, was because the federation were looking to introduce a Pro League in 2026. Basically, they need to build an army first.
That NABBA Pro League, says Rosiek, will look to include pro shows at every area show. As it stands, there are nine NABBA area shows, not including the NABBA England.
Then, don't forget, there is the NABBA British Finals and NABBA Universe. Altogether, that means a potential Pro League of 12 shows.
Which other federation currently offers 12 competitions for professional athletes? The IFBB Pro League and the IFBB Pro federation. That's it.
The PCA currently offers pro competitions at the Universe, British Championships and World Finals.
But what NABBA are offering could change the landscape entirely. A proper British-based Pro League.
The key question, however, is this: Where is the money coming from?
Naturally, frontdouble.com has already asked NABBA this very question. The response was: "Our marketing team will be releasing and sending out a press release regarding this soon."
First of all – and with the greatest amount of respect – who knew that NABBA had a marketing team?
Secondly, we must return to something else Rosiek (below) said in his post from Tuesday, January 7.
"This means there will be lots of prize money. And it means a pro can earn proper money, which is what a pro is deemed to be," said Rosiek.
So how much is "proper money"? Some pros in both the IFBB Pro League and the IFBB Pro federation offer £15,000 as first prize. Is this what we are looking at? Or are we looking at something akin to the current PCA top prizes of £2000? Maybe it is somewhere in between. Whatever the case, NABBA must have some pretty concrete deals in place in order to be confident enough to use the language in which they have used.
What is certain is that if NABBA get this right, a proper British pro league is something UK bodybuilding is crying out for. Money talks at the end of the day. So for all their shortcomings over the past few years, NABBA could just have struck gold.
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