Basketball receives major boost with IMG Reliance tie-up

New Delhi, Jun 21 (PTI) Basketball in India received a
shot in the arm on Monday with IMG Reliance, a joint venture
between Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries and IMG
Worldwide, forging a tie-up with the federation to promote
the sport in the country.

As part of the agreement, the Basketball Federation of
India (BFI) has granted IMG Reliance commercial rights
relating to basketball in India, including sponsorships,
advertising, broadcasting, merchandising, film, video and
data, intellectual property, franchise and new league rights,
according to a press release here.
The agreement is expected to lead to a professional
basketball league in India "in which players from around the
globe will compete alongside Indian players, similar to the
CBL in China," the statement said.
"A critical element of the new initiative will be the
development of world class infrastructure in India to support
the effort, including the construction of new arenas and
training facilities," it added.
"It is an important development in the history of
basketball in the country. This is a giant step towards our
stated vision of making basketball a much-watched and popular
sport in the country," BFI secretary general Harish Sharma
said.
"We are confident that IMG Reliance will play a
significant role in realising this vision," Sharma said.
On behalf of IMG Reliance, Andrew Wildblood hailed the
tie-up and said, "With the active support and participation
from the BFI, we will work to take the sport to the next
level...We further believe that basketball has all the
necessary ingredients to take a significant share of the
growing professional sports market in the country."
RIL owns the Mumbai franchise of the Indian Premier
League and was reportedly interested in a 51 per cent bid for
stakes in English Premier League club Liverpool. PTI AY