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The NBA's African Expansion
The National Basketball Association recently announced the creation of NBA Africa, a new entity that will operate the Basketball Africa League (BAL), build corporate partnerships, expand content and media rights, and support local efforts to construct new basketball arenas. “The NBA envisions basketball being a top sport throughout Africa in 10 years,” according to coverage on CNBC.
The effort is led by NBA Africa CEO Victor Williams (MBA 1998), who described the organization’s strategy to accelerate the development of the sport’s ecosystem on the continent by establishing more youth academies to build a pipeline of talent and expand the NBA’s brand.
“This growth will come to life by, amongst other things, increasing the NBA’s footprint in Africa and opening additional offices in priority markets across the continent starting in countries like Nigeria, where there is already a strong affinity for the game,” he said.
The league has partnered with a number of investors including former players Dikembe Mutombo, Junior Bridgeman, Luol Deng, Grant Hill, and Joakim Noah, as well as the Nigeria-based Helios Fairfax Partners Corporation. Tope Lawani (MBA 1995), co-CEO of Helios, will sit on the board alongside NBA Deputy Commissioner and COO Mark Tatum (MBA 1998). NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said in a press conference that the enterprise value for NBA Africa is nearly $1 billion.
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