FIBA – FIBA launches fun Facebook App for FIBA World Championship
GENEVA (2010 FIBA World Championship) – FIBA’s new Facebook application, ‘My FIBA Jersey’, is generating a lot of buzz around the upcoming FIBA World Championship in Turkey. The application allows fans from each of the 24 nations competing in the event to create an image of their country’s basketball jersey bearing their ...
GENEVA (2010 FIBA World Championship) – FIBA’s new Facebook application, ‘My FIBA Jersey’, is generating a lot of buzz around the upcoming FIBA World Championship in Turkey.
The application allows fans from each of the 24 nations competing in the event to create an image of their country’s basketball jersey bearing their names and their number of choice.
This image can then be added to their Facebook page as a profile picture. The application also keeps a tally of the most popular national shirts to encourage more supporters to get behind their teams online.
The application is available to the 40,000-strong fanbase on FIBA's Facebook page and can be accessed at http://www.facebook.com/FIBAWorld. Over 2,000 jerseys were created within hours of the application going live.
FIBA Secretary General and International Olympic Committee (IOC) member Patrick Baumann said: “While we engage on a regular basis with our Facebook community, we really wanted to give them something that will not only get them fired up for the tournament, but also create some friendly rivalry between participating countries.
“Although it is primarily aimed at the supporters of the competing teams, it can also be used by anybody interested in basketball or by Facebook fans generally.
“This is the first time we have launched a Facebook app and we are delighted with the reaction from fans. It’s fun, easy to use and a great way of generating even more excitement around the tournament in Turkey.”
The 2010 FIBA World Championship will be the world's biggest-ever basketball competition.
An estimated 350,000 people are expected to attend the event in Istanbul, Ankara, Izmir and Kayseri from 28th August to 12th September, with more than one billion viewers watching the action on TV or online.
The 80-game tournament features reigning world champions Spain and 2008 Olympic gold medalists USA.
The team winning the 2010 FIBA World Championship will qualify automatically for the London 2012 Olympics.
FIBA