LONDON/CAIRO: The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Sarmady, Vodafone Egypt's digital arm, announced the launch of NBA.com/arabic, the first-ever Arabic language NBA website for basketball fans in the Middle East and North Africa. The new site, which will be the ultimate online destination for fans to experience the NBA in Arabic, will feature daily video highlights and top plays to catch all the exciting moments throughout the season. Additionally, NBA.com/arabic will include the latest news from around the league, daily game results, box scores, local editorial content and team and player information pages, all in Arabic for the first time. “As the NBA's fan base in the Middle East and North Africa continues to grow, we are pleased to be working with Sarmady to provide fans with the definitive NBA destination across the Arabic-speaking world,” said Aly El Hamamsy, NBA managing director for the Middle East. “We hope this multimedia experience will encourage them to play the game and follow their favorite NBA teams, players and latest league news.” Con O'Donnell, Sarmady's managing director, said “We are delighted to partner with the NBA to grow the game of basketball across the Middle East and North Africa and look forward to bringing NBA fans closer to the game they love.” Along with NBA.com/arabic, fans in the Middle East and North Africa can follow the NBA through NBA LEAGUE PASS Broadband International, a subscription service that offers access to a full season of live NBA game webcasts on NBA.com. The NBA was the first professional sports league in the United States to offer official international destinations for fans with the launch of NBA.com/Japan in 1999. Currently there are 13 NBA international Web destinations: Arabic, Brazil, Canada, China, Espanol, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Japan, Taiwan, and United Kingdom. Through the distribution of NBA television programming, the staging of grassroots basketball programs, and support from its business partners, the NBA has a strong and growing presence in the Middle East. This season, NBA games and programs are televised in 23 countries in the Middle East and North Africa, with Al Jazeera and ESPN serving as pan-regional broadcast partners. The NBA has a diverse roster of merchandise partners which produce an assortment of NBA-themed products available in the region, and the league is supported by several marketing partners including adidas, Coca-Cola, EA SPORTS, Nike and Spalding. As part of its efforts to engage basketball fans in the region, the NBA recently conducted two grassroots basketball programs in the Middle East. The events included “Hoops on the Nile,” a series of instructional basketball camps in the Egyptian cities of Alexandria, Assuit, Cairo, and Tanta held in partnership with the US Embassy and a basketball clinic for 30 promising players which was led by NBA Global Ambassador and 18-year NBA veteran Dikembe Mutombo at the American International School in Abu Dhabi.
