Fans of NBA will soon be able to buy official merchandise in Qatar, the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The National Basketball Association (NBA) and Qatar’s Al Mana Fashion Group have teamed up to open stores during the 2016-2017 NBA season, the association and Al Mana Fashion Group said in a joint statement.
The first two outlets will open in Doha with additional stores in the Gulf to follow. Fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers, the newly crowned NBA champions, and the other 29 NBA teams will be able to buy apparel, jerseys, footwear, sporting goods, toys and collectibles.
Al Mana Group did not give a time frame on the opening or location of the subsequent openings.
“The National Basketball Association is one of the most successful sports leagues in the world and is watched and enjoyed by millions of people around the globe,” said Andrew Fairall, the general manager of Al Mana Fashion Group – Sports Division.
“With basketball being one of the fastest-growing categories in sports retail in the region, we are very excited to be working with such an iconic brand as we build an exciting new chapter in our illustrious legacy in the Middle East.”
The NBA outlets will look to enhance the growing number of sport-themed outlets in the UAE. The Uefa Champions League Experience, a retail and casual-dining outlet operated by the Dubai based retail group Marka, opened in Yas Mall in June last year and Cafe Diego, an official link-up with the famed footballer Diego Maradona, is now open at the Nation Galleria Mall in Abu Dhabi. Both outlets show live football.
In terms of football-shirt sponsorship, the UAE has lead the way for two seasons running. In March, the Repucom European Football Jersey Report said that airlines from the Arabian Gulf spent Dh670 million putting their logos and names on shirts, including those of Arsenal and Manchester City.
Qatar invested heavily in football, buying French champions Paris St-Germain and sponsoring Spanish champions Barcelona.
Ferrari World, the world’s largest indoor theme park, is the first Ferrari-branded entertainment experience. It opened in Abu Dhabi in November 2010, cementing the country’s love of luxury cars, speed and extreme excitement.
ascott@thenational.ae
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