The Chinese Basketball Association has agreed a sponsorship deal with Chinese dairy products company Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group, which will become a partner of the Chinese domestic league.
At the opening ceremony of the CBA League 2019-20 season in Dongguan, Yao Ming, the chairman of the CBA, and Zhang Jianqiu, the vice-president of Yili Group, signed the deal. Yili is CBA’s first domestic dairy category sponsor.
Zhang told local media: “Yili, as a leading company in the Chinese dairy industry, has always aimed to promote the development of healthy initiatives with practical action. We are also sponsors for the Beijing Winter Olympics, and will work closely with the CBA to contribute to the development of Chinese professional basketball and youth basketball locally.”
Yili is the official dairy partner of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics and the Winter Paralympic Games. It was also a partner of the recently-concluded 7th World Military Games in Hubei.
According to Euromonitor International, Yili has around 20 per cent of China’s $62bn (€55bn) dairy products market.
Last week, the CBA signed a sponsorship deal with tourist resort operator Chimelong Group, with the two organisations pledging to create new experiences and services for fans.
