On Wednesday, November 17, 2021, shocking news came from the NBA. The Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism and the National Basketball Association (NBA) announced the multi-year partnership. This was done in person during a press conference. The United Arab Emirates will also host the NBA games. The initial match will soon be held in Abu Dhabi in a 2-game pre-season game in October 2022. This precious moment will soon take place and will be the first time the NBA will be able to hold a game in the Arabian Peninsula.

The existence of a program called Visit Abu Dhabi opened up opportunities for the NBA. This will give them. chance to infiltrate the Middle East mainland. Now the NBA has successfully raised its name to mainland Africa, Europe and East Asia. Events held in the Middle East will not only focus on basketball games.  In addition to games, there will also be an NBA health clinic and the NBA 2K League.

The NBA will also organize games in many schools in the United Arab Emirates to introduce Jr NBA. Can be followed by all female students and all male students.

75th Anniversary

“Coinciding with the 75th anniversary of the NBA, we received an offer from Abu Dhabi to collaborate,” said Mark Tatum (Vice Commissioner and Chief Operating Officer of NVA).

“We consider Abu Dhabi to be one of the right areas to expand the NBA’s wings. There are many world-class matches held, which will have a good influence on the NBA. Not only profit in terms of achievement, but also from a business perspective, “he added.

Abu Dhabi’s consistency can be seen clearly with the existence of various major events in the country, such as the HSBC Abu Dhabi Championship, Formula F1 Final and International UFC. It did not stop there; WWE stars were also brought in regularly in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, every year. The event that was created was titled, Crown Jewel.

Actually, the program presented by the NBA has succeeded in attracting the Middle East mainland for a long time. The program is promoted through NBA Pass, The Sports Channel and belN Sports. The three programs are paid services that are selling well in the Middle East.

Basketball without Borders

Currently, at least 220 young United Arab Emirates players have participated in Basketball Without Borders. From the level of children aged 6 to 18 years. It also seems to be growing from 2019 with the joining of 500 children consisting of boys and girls participating in NBA Basketball School Dubai.

“With the increasing number of NBA players that have successfully entered the mainland of the Saudi Arabian Emirates. It has made it even more perched as a country that is able to host international sports and present many talented players in their fields,” said Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak (Chairman of DCT Abu Dhabi).

“One of the commitments of Abu Dhabi is to develop for the sake of the world community, one of which is by collaborating with the NBA. We will also wait for how the NBA will do in helping to develop young talents and implement a healthy lifestyle in people’s daily lives,” he added.

According to Mark Tatum’s explanation, many fans from the United Arab Emirates will be happy with regular season matches. Considering the NBA’s schedule is very tight, so we have to be patient, waiting for them to come in and out of the United States. We are confident that the match will be very exciting and not miss.

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