Dennis Rodman Secures Paddy Power Sponsorship for North Korean Basketball Invitational

Former NBA Star Dennis Rodman has agreed a partnership with Irish betting firm, Paddy Power to create the Paddy Power Dennis Rodman Invitational an international basketball event taking place in the North Korean capital Pyongyang in January 2014, with the official support and backing of the DPRK government and leader, Kim Jong-un.

The event will match the North Korean national basketball team against an All-Star selection put together by Rodman in conjunction with key stakeholders from the world of basketball. A second match will also be played in June 2014 between both sides in Europe.

In what looks set to be both diplomatic and sports history in the making, Rodman made the announcement at a press conference in New York saying, “Kim loves basketball, and he’s interested in building trust and understanding through sport and cultural exchanges. I know in time Americans will see I’m just trying to help us all get along and see eye to eye through basketball, and with my friendship with Kim I know this will happen. I am certain that the Paddy Power Dennis Rodman Invitational will move things along in the right direction.”

Paddy Power of Paddy Power said, “We’ve been working with Dennis on this historic project since February. The scale and ambition of the project got us really excited and we are proud to be supporting Dennis to help him realise his dream. We’ll be working hard over the coming months to make the Paddy Power Dennis Rodman Invitational a world class event and look forward to announcing more details soon.”