Asian dairy giant Yili becomes newest FIBA Global Partner

MIES (Switzerland) - FIBA, the International Basketball Federation, is delighted to welcome Yili, one of the top 5 dairy brands in the world and the biggest in Asia, as its newest Global Partner.

The agreement will see the Chinese-owned company Yili with key commercial rights, including on-court branding at the prestigious FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 tipping off in August. 

With a passionate basketball fan community in China, in particular, Yili provides an excellent opportunity to expand the FIBA brand across Asia even further and also help promote the upcoming FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023. 

Yili will be a co-presenter of the FIBA Basketball World Cup App and when the best basketball players on the planet step off the court and hit the bench, they will be handed Yili-branded towels when they take a well-deserved rest. 

"We are thrilled to be able to welcome Yili to the FIBA Family as our latest Global Partner. Being a brand leader in Asia would be of huge significance at any time, but especially taking into account the upcoming FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023 in the region that has a combined population of over half a billion people," said FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis.

"Yili also already has significant expertise and experience in sponsoring major sporting events and competitions, so we are confident this is a great partnership that will prove successful for both of us," Zagklis added.

Meanwhile. Mr. Liu Chunxi, Executive President of Yili Group stated: "We are very happy to become a FIBA Global Partner and everyone at Yili is excited by the possibilities it provides, both in terms of being able to grow our brand and in helping to make basketball even more popular - something which we know is already growing at a rapid rate.

"The FIBA Basketball World Cup is one of the largest events in international sport and we are looking forward to helping to promote it and using such a big tournament to showcase our brand and products globally. It feels like a great fit for us," Mr. Liu Chunxi added.

Yili will access all of the standard rights and benefits for FIBA Global Partners and have the right to use marks to promote the partnership on its own products, including sub-brands that are within the product category.

The official signing ceremony occurred at the iconic Great Wall of China at the Juyong Pass, located 50km from Beijing. FIBA and Yili also unveiled the words 'Passion - Win For All' representing the key slogans of the two organizations, made of 1,206 Molten basketballs, which will be used to further FIBA's efforts of using Basketball For Good. This also goes down as a first on the Great Wall and a Guinness World Record.  

This agreement was brokered by FIBA Marketing, the strategic partnership between FIBA and Infront.

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About FIBA
FIBA (fiba.basketball) - the world governing body for basketball, is an independent association formed by 212 National Basketball Federations throughout the world. It is recognized as the sole competent authority in basketball by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

For further information about FIBA, visit fiba.basketball or follow FIBA on facebook.com/fiba, twitter.com/fiba,  instagram.com/fiba and youtube.com/fiba.

About Yili:
Yili Group is Asia’s largest dairy company and has remained in this leading position for eight consecutive years. Yili retained its ranking among the Top 5 global dairy brands in 2022. The company is highly active across all dairy categories, including liquid milk, milk powder, yogurt, ice cream, cheese, and more. Beyond its core dairy sector, the company is continuously evolving its product portfolio and entering new business lines, such as plant-based beverages and lactic acid bacteria drinks.

Yili has global market systems in regions where the dairy industry is well developed, which include Asia, Europe, the Americas, and Oceania. The company has over 2,000 partners distributed in 39 countries across six continents. Yili owns 15 research and development and innovation centers and 75 production bases, and its products are on the market in more than 60 countries and regions.