England Basketball Partners with BBL to Boost the Sport after London 2012

England Basketball, the national governing body for Basketball in England, has agreed a partnership with the British Basketball League (BBL) to capitalize on the surge of interest in the sport, following the London Olympics. 

This past season has seen basketball’s three domestic finals at Birmingham’s NIA, Glasgow’s Emirates Arena, and at Wembley Arena attract over 20,000 spectators, and like for like attendances at the top clubs are up 27% for the recently completed 2012/13 season.

A new franchise will be in Birmingham in the new season, and London Lions are moving to the Copper Box Arena. BBL have also announced a five year sponsorship deal with Spalding, and further commercial sponsorships will be announced shortly. In addition, grass roots activities by England Basketball and the BBL Foundation are expanding significantly, particularly around the 3on3 form of the game, and basketball has seen the greatest increase in participation in England amongst all team sports, and is now ranked third in team sports for regular participation, behind only football and cricket. 

England Basketball Chairman Jan Hagen said: “I am excited about the tremendous potential in the sport, following my recent appointment as Chairman, and I believe we have a great opportunity to drive participation in the sport by working with the BBL, the top Clubs, and other partners. The BBLclubs are committed to their work in the communities and in youth development and we want to leverage even further the synergies between the organizations.England Basketball will be actively looking to work with other basketball specific and multi-sport partners as part of its new strategy and more collaboration projects will follow in due course.” 

Ed Percival, Chairman of BBL added: “We are delighted to support this focus and drive on basketball participation, and particularly in our inner cities. Working with the governing body even more closely will undoubtedly enhance our delivery programmes and drive long term interest in the sport.”