Wilson, the US equipment manufacturer owned by Finnish company Amer Sports, has signed a partnership with basketball’s FIBA Intercontinental Cup clubs competition, similar to soccer's Club World Cup, and has also extended its collaboration with the Basketball Champions League (BCL), the pan-European clubs' competition.
As part of the deal, the equipment manufacturer will provide the official ball, the Wilson EVO NXT Game ball, for three editions of the Intercontinental Cup, from 2023 to 2025, and three years of the BCL from 2024 to 2026.
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The BCL – which initially teamed up with Wilson four years ago – will also collaborate with the brand to create content such as player insights and monthly in-game highlight reels, as well as working together on a joint community program.
Kevin Murphy, general manager of team sports for Wilson, said: “We are pleased to expand our reach with the help of our new agreement with the FIBA Intercontinental Cup, as well as extend our collaboration with the BCL.
“These relationships will help to expand our footprint worldwide to help to better grow and develop the game of basketball, not just for current fans and athletes, but also to help introduce the next generation and incite in them a deep love for the sport.”
FIBA president Sheikh Saud Ali Al Thani added: "The FIBA Intercontinental Cup opened an exciting chapter in its history in September 2023, with the 33rd edition bringing the event to Asia for the first time.
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By GlobalData"The competition brings together clubs from many corners of the globe, spearheading FIBA's vision to reshape global club competitions. We are enormously pleased that Wilson is an active participant in this vision, assisting us to turn into reality what the FIBA family regarded as a distant dream when it gave birth to the FIBA Intercontinental Cup in 1966."
The next two editions of that event will also take place in Singapore.
BCL chief executive Patrick Comninos stated, meanwhile: "The start of our collaboration with Wilson, in 2019, was the cornerstone of our plan to elevate game experience standards for our players.
"The BCL has just entered its eighth season and, by now, our players take for granted that they will have the best possible equipment and the ideal conditions at their disposal, so they can focus only on their performance.
“The BCL and Wilson share a commitment to innovation in basketball and a passion for our sport, so extending our partnership is a natural step in our joint pursuit of excellence in basketball.”
Wilson replaced Molten, the Japanese sports equipment firm, as a commercial partner to Wilson four years ago.
Wilson is also the supplier of official game basketballs for the National Basketball Association, the Women’s National Basketball Association, National Collegiate Athletic Association, Basketball Africa League, and FIBA 3×3.
