FIBA Partners with TCL Corporation -- Sponsor Spotlight

(ATR) The deal comprises of all worldwide FIBA competitions through 2019.

This timeframe includes the remaining Asian Qualifiers, the 2019 World Cup, and the Women’s World Cup later this year. A "TCL Player of the Game" honor will be presented during competition for the 2019 World Cup.

TCL, an electronics company based in China, already has sponsorships with the Chinese national basketball team and the Minnesota Timberwolves of the NBA.

Vice president of TCL, Yuki Wei, said in a statement, "We are delighted to partner with FIBA, a truly influential partner in the global basketball community, as sports sponsorship lies in the core of TCL's global brand strategy. We are passionate about sport and aspire to bring together basketball fans worldwide as part of our growing global community."

Li-Ning and ITTF Sign Referee Apparel Deal

Li-Ning will outfit officials for all federation competitions beginning with the 2018 World Championships. The three-year agreement includes the World Tour and World Cup.

The new look features short and long sleeved polo shirts, designed to look more casual. The uniforms will debut at the Korea Open in July.

Zhang Xiangdu, the brand project manager at Li-Ning, stated, "Having sponsored and contributed to the success of several top teams such as the Chinese Table Tennis Team, Chinese Shooting Team, and the Chinese Diving Team, we are very excited about this new collaboration with the ITTF to bring a more pleasant and professional experience for referees and staff at top table tennis events worldwide."

FIFA World Cup Sponsor Slogans Hijacked

World Cup corporate sponsor slogans are being used in a campaign to defend journalists in Russia.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) launched the effort to draw attention to what it calls "the dire state of journalism in Russia".

For example, the RSF is taking Coca-Cola’s well-known slogan "Taste the feeling" and changing it to "In Russia, journalists can’t taste the feeling of freedom". Other slogans from companies like McDonald’s, Visa, Adidas and Hyundai are also being adapted.

Using the adapted slogans, RSF is posting messages linked to the sponsors’ social network accounts urging them not to let the image of their brands be tarnished.

"By helping to finance an international sports event in a country whose government silences independent journalists and wields ever greater control over the media, they are not just getting a nice space for their ads, they are also taking a great risk with their image." RSF secretary-general Christophe Deloire said in a statement.

"They have a duty to not let themselves, even passively, become accomplices to the suppression of media freedom in World Cup host countries and instead to use the pressure available to them by conditioning their funding on respect for journalistic plurality, independence and freedom."

The RSF ranks Russia 148th out of 180 countries in its World Press Freedom Index.

Click here to see the campaign.

Written by Gerard Farek and Jeffrey Farek

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