MG Reliance has been granted by the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) a full range of commercial rights surrounding basketball in India, covering sponsorship, advertising, broadcasting, merchandising, film, video and data, intellectual property, franchising and new league rights.
IMG Reliance say that the initiative will see the construction of new basketball arenas and training facilities.
The joint venture will advise the BFI on the organization and management of school and college leagues throughout the country, to grow the talent pool available to the professional league.
“This is a giant step towards our stated vision of making basketball a much-watched and popular sport in the country,” said said Mr. Harish Sharma, general secretary of the BFI.
“We strongly believe there is room for multiple commercially successful professional sports in India,” said Andrew Wildblood of IMG Reliance. “We further believe that basketball has all the necessary ingredients to take a significant share of the growing professional sports market in the country and to have great appeal for the Indian consumer.”
