FIBA, the world governing body of basketball has partnered with Beijing Enterprises Group to establish the FIBA-BG Basketball Academy in China. The signing ceremony was held at the Yanqi Hotel in Beijing today (June 27).
This is the first ever basketball academy of its kind set up in the history of FIBA and is the only world-class fixed-location FIBA-approved basketball training academy in China.
The academy will be dedicated to training various different roles in the sport of basketball, including developing professional international basketball players, coaches, referees and agents, as well as providing youth basketball training. FIBA will support the academy’s development with global resources such as providing world-class coaches and exchanging programs.
The FIBA Secretary General Patrick Baumann who attended the ceremony remarked that the creation of the academy is one of the measures to leave a legacy in China after the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup. He expressed the goal to create optimal training for coaches, young players and for off-court areas such as sports marketing, event operations etc. He looked forward to it being set up in the following months.
The Deputy Party Secretary of Beijing Enterprises Group Company Limited, Hu Yintong, says that the academy is a demonstration of further collaboration between FIBA and BG. He believes it will have a deep and far-reaching influence in the development of the Chinese basketball industry, help to push forward collaborations between China and other countries in the basketball field and bring a beautiful future to Chinese basketball.
Beijing Enterprises Group Company Limited is a FIBA Partner for 2016-2019 and is one of the most important state-owned corporations in Beijing. The group mainly manages public infrastructures and services, owning Beijing Gas and the water services and environmental protection services providers, BEWG.
To realize social responsibilities, BG and its subsidiaries have been very active in sports sponsorship. Yanjing Beer, a subsidiary of BG, title sponsors the CFA Cup. BG has also acquired or co-established a number of sports clubs, such as Beijing BG Football Club, BG Phoenix Football Club, Beijing Beikong Fly Dragons Basketball Club, BG Tigers Baseball Club and BG Xiongdi Baseball Club. To add to all of this, BG is also building winter sports competition facilities in Yanqing for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics.
As the 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup draws closer, FIBA has planned many activations and activities on the road to the FIBA Basketball World Cup China 2019 and the FIBA-BG Basketball Academy is one of these steps.
Photos from the Signing Ceremony:
Source: Yutang Sports
Proofread by Raymond Fitzpatrick