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NBL loses its major backer

By Sun Xiaochen (China Daily)
Updated: 2011-05-27 08:03

Beijing - Although losing the support of its main partner, China's National Basketball League (NBL) still aims to expand this coming season.

Kenneth Huang, an American investor who partnered the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) to set up and operate the NBL last February, did not appear at the press conference to launch the season on Wednesday, nor did any of the staff members of Huang's QSL Sports, which was built to run the league.

Huang's absence triggered assumptions he had quit and Beijing Youth Daily reported on Thursday the 46-year-old had terminated his partnership with the league's governing body.

"We ended the eight-year contract last month. But that doesn't mean he (Huang) will totally quit. He just changed the way to partner us and he could still introduce other investors to us" the report quoted a CBA official on condition of anonymity.

Huang first became known in the sport when he acquired a 15 percent share of the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers in 2009. Huang also bought a CBA club, the Jilin Northeast Tigers, in November 2009, to become the first foreign owner in the league.

However, his bold move into China's sports market has apparently stalled.

The NBL's bid to compete with the nation's top league, the CBA, was hamstrung by a lack of fans and media attention.

However, with new teams joining, the governing body and sponsors are optimistic about the league's future.

"Two new clubs from Hebei province and Ningxia Hui autonomous region, where professional basketball is rare, have joined this year's league. That is good for us to promote the game within a larger area in the country and reach more fans," Liu Xiaonong, vice-president of the CBA, said during the conference.

Zhang Degui, the coach of new club Ningxia Hanas, echoed Liu's comments, citing "the league is playing a big role in getting more teenagers from rural Northern China involved in elite basketball at home".

"Basketball has developed well at the grassroots level in Ninxia. Now we have a team in the professional league. That will definitely lure more support and attention to the sport's rise," said Zhang.

Despite the loss of QSL's sponsorship, the NBL has still attracted a group of top domestic enterprises, including sportswear brand Li-Ning and beverage producer Uni-president.

"We see a great opportunity to reach more fans in a larger area through the NBL," said Brian Cupps, executive director of Li-Ning's basketball brand.

The 2011 NBL season will tip off on June 4 with 122 players, including 20 foreigners, competing in a three-month season. Ten teams will play a home-and-away schedule and the top eight will head into the playoffs.

China Daily

(China Daily 05/27/2011 page24)