FIBA and Wanda Group signs landmark strategic partnership agreement

BEIJING (China) - On the day of tip-off of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019, FIBA, the world governing body of basketball, and Wanda Group have signed a strategic partnership agreement.  Wanda will continue as a global partner for the next 12 years, covering the next three World Cup cycles.  This global partnership will extend the agreement, which was first signed in 2016, until 2031.

Today’s signing ceremony, which took place at the Wanda Vista in Beijing was attended by Wanda Chairman, Wang Jianlin, FIBA Secretary General, Andreas Zagklis accompanied by both FIBA’s outgoing President Horacio Muratore and newly elected President Hamane Niang.

As a global partner, Wanda will have global marketing rights to the next three cycles of the FIBA Basketball World Cups and World Cup Qualifiers, the Women’s Basketball World Cups, the FIBA Continental Cups and also the FIBA Youth World Cups.

Wanda will benefit from exclusive marketing rights across a wide range of categories including real estate development, shopping malls, hotels, travel agencies, movie theatres, movie and film production and film studies and amusement and theme parks.

The enhanced partnership between FIBA and Wanda will continue to promote the development of basketball worldwide, bringing more top international club competitions to China and also contributing to the development of basketball in China through programs such as the Little Champions initiative.

The Little Champions program, established by FIBA and Wanda, was developed to inspire the next generation of kids by giving them the unique opportunity to step onto the court of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019 and join their idols before every game. 

FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis said, “Today is a very important day for FIBA, not only because it is the start of the FIBA Basketball World Cup but it is also the day of a landmark announcement and celebration of this strategic global partnership extension with the Wanda Group.”

“This 12-year extension confirms that Wanda and FIBA together think long-term and share the same vision. With this agreement, Wanda becomes one of the longest partners of FIBA in its 90 years of history.”

Wanda Group Chairman, Wang Jianlin said “This strategic partnership between the Wanda Group and FIBA will greatly promote the development of basketball globally. It will also bring more top international basketball competitions to China and strengthen basketball’s position as the number one team sport in the country and contribute greatly to its development.”

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About FIBA
FIBA (fiba.basketball) - the world governing body for basketball, is an independent association formed by 213 National Basketball Federations throughout the world. It is recognized as the sole competent authority in basketball by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

For further information about FIBA, visit fiba.basketball or follow FIBA on facebook.com/fiba, twitter.com/fiba,  instagram.com/fiba and youtube.com/fiba.

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About Wanda
As the world’s largest listed sports company, Wanda Sports is the global and exclusive Chinese local partner for more than a dozen world sports organizations, including FIBA, FIFA and IIHF. Basketball, football and winter sports, in particular, are the core assets of Wanda Sports. Wanda Sports has successfully held a number of world-class sporting events in China, including IRONMAN triathlon series, China Cup International Football Championship, UCI World Tour-Tour of Guangxi, UCI Urban Cycling World Championship, Chengdu International Marathon, Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon China series, and the finals of the 2018 BWF World Tour. More international sporting events will be brought to China in 2020, including winter sports, auto racing and motorcycle racing. These events will fill multiple gaps in China’s sports market and will greatly promote comprehensive development of the country’s sports industry.

Infront is part of the Wanda Sports Group and forms the strategic partnership with FIBA to drive the sponsorship and licensing activities through FIBA Marketing.