British Basketball leagues looking for China growth

The British Basketball League (BBL) and Women’s British Basketball League (WBBL) are in the process of exploring commercial and sporting opportunities in the Far East.

BBL & WBBL Commercial Director, Bob Hope is meeting with senior members of the Chinese Basketball Association in Beijing later this week to continue the essential process of building partnerships to promote basketball in the UK.

“The Asian market is huge and obviously China in particular has established itself as a major powerhouse in basketball,” explained Hope.

“They will host the next FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2019, have a high-profile domestic competition and obviously compete at an elite level on the international stage – as we witnessed recently at the Rio Olympics.

“With the announcement of the BBC broadcasting deal and other major announcements in the pipeline, we are keen to now take the next step and that means a push to develop the BBL brand internationally.”

He added, “There are a few ideas that we will be discussing which will involve possible activities on and off the floor, so it’s an exciting development and one for our clubs, players, fans and commercial partners to keep an eye on.”