The National Basketball Association (NBA) will stage its first-ever event in India with Basketball without Borders, the league’s global basketball development and community outreach program. A series of activities will be held in New Delhi July 3–6, the NBA, the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) announced today.
The Basketball without Borders camp uses basketball to influence positive social change and features dozens of current and former NBA players and team personnel working as camp coaches. Top young basketball players (ages 19 and under) from across Asia will come together in New Delhi to take part in basketball instruction and competition. They will also participate in motivational and life-skills seminars that promote education, leadership, character development and healthy living.
“We look forward to hosting this most prestigious basketball camp,” said Harish Sharma, BFI Secretary General. “This will be an extraordinary opportunity to work with both the NBA and FIBA to help promote basketball in India.”
“The NBA is pleased to partner with BFI and FIBA to stage the league’s inaugural camp in India,” said Heidi Ueberroth, NBA President, Global Marketing Partnerships and International Business Operations. “We look forward to working together on the first of many activities to target basketball participation.”
The NBA’s relationship with India dates back to 1993 when games were first broadcast on television. ESPN Star Sports, the NBA’s television partner, will provide coverage of the camp and have unique and exclusive behind-the-scenes access of the event to create innovative programming for viewers across the country. The Basketball without Borders camp also currently features American Airlines, DHL, Nike and Spalding as official partners.
“We are delighted to be a part of this unique initiative and look forward to working along with BFI, FIBA and our long time partner, NBA,” said Manu Sawhney, Managing Director, ESPN STAR Sports. “We firmly believe that such an activity will work towards building a healthy sporting culture among the Indian youth giving them an opportunity to get close to leading NBA players and coaches.”
Since the inaugural camp in 2001, Basketball without Borders has been staged in nine countries and territories on five continents. Last year, Basketball without Borders took place in Shanghai, China; São Paulo, Brazil; Paris, France; and Johannesburg, South Africa