National Basketball League Gets Shs300M Sponsorship Boost

By Thomas Odongo

The Federation of Uganda Basketball Association’s National Basketball League (NBL) has been handed a Shs300 Million sponsorship boost from the Uganda Breweries Limited Premium Beer; Tusker Lite.

The three year sponsorship deal was announced on Tuesday during a press briefing held at the Uganda Olympic Committee (UOC) Secretariat in Kampala. This will see each season allotted Shs100M. The money will enable smooth running of the league activities. The women’s top tier league, WNBL (Women National Basketball League) is also part of this deal.

UBL Brand Manager Cathy Twesigye, said support for the regular league is an affirmation of UBL's love for the game and she pledged continued support. ‘We are committed to basketball in Uganda and our coming on board to sponsor the league tells volumes. We are in this for a long time,’ Twesigye said.

With the deal already secured, FUBA now has a task to secure a strong fan base to grace game days especially during women’s matches and lower ranked games that are always attended by a handful of fans. FUBA Vice President in charge Marketing; Arnold Katabi says the federation has already taken steps to lure fans to attend games.

“Every Wednesday is Ladies Night where ladies enter to watch games for free no matter the match day venue. These beautiful ladies always come along with other people who in turn are more than willing to pay,” he said. He added that the level of competition in the league is getting heated up and teams are set to disrupt the already established order.