Britain will have its own national badminton league this October that will set of rules and own set of format. A new format is intended to make matches shorter but the details have yet to be finalized.
"Under the new rules, games will get to critical points quicker; it is going to be very exciting for the fans and the players. It's going to be non-stop action, and no-interruption to games," said Badminton England chief executive Adrian Christy.
The league is named National Badminton League (NBL) will consist of six franchises all based in England:
- Birmingham Lions (University of Birmingham)
- Team Derby (University of Derby)
- Loughborough Sport (University of Loughborough)
- UoN Badminton (University of Nottingham)
- Surrey Smashers (University of Surrey
- Milton Keynes
Matches will be played to an abbreviated score, including a tie-break set. This would make the game more exciting.
"This is very exciting, and it's a game changer for sport of badminton in Britain," said the retired Britain's former world number one and Olympic silver medalist Nathan Robertson.
These franchises can start acquiring eight players for each team at an auction on June 2nd. These teams can choose badminton players from all around the world.
The league will start on October 6th with monthly regular league matches until April 2015. The league will enter play off in June 2015, which will feature a one-day knockout competition among the top four teams.
England's husband-and-wife mixed doubles – Chris Adcock and Gabby White, who reached a career-high fifth in the world rankings when they won the Hong Kong Open last November and are among the favorites at this summer's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, will certainly join the league when it begins.
The couples are second seeds at this month's European Championships in Kazan, Russia, and Adcock is also the number two seed in the men's doubles with partner Andy Ellis.