KATHMANDU, AUGUST 23

The Nepal Basketball Association and China Trade Link reached the sponsorship agreement here today.

Acting President of NeBA Bhim Gurung and China Trade Link President Rajen Maharjan exchanged the memorandum of understanding amidst a programme. As per the two-year deal, the Chinese sportswear brand Li-Ning will provide the NeBA with sports kits for national and age-group teams' participation in international events.

'This is the first time Nepali basketball has received kits sponsorship and we are grateful to Li-Ning for supporting the sport,' said NeBA General Secretary Narendra Thapa. 'The deal includes playing and practice jersey sets and tracksuits to national teams along with U-14, U-16, U-18 and U-23 sides,' Thapa said. 'Our women's national team is scheduled to take part in the second SABA Championship next month in Maldives and it will be the first time Nepali team will be wearing a sponsored jersey,' he added.

According to Thapa, Li-Ning will provide the NeBA with 15 sets of jersey and track-suits for all the national teams, while the sponsors will give five sets of kits to 3X3 sides. Li-Ning also announced to design a separate jersey for Nepal's basketball teams. Apart from that, basketball players and officials will also get 30 per cent discount from Li-Ning.

National women's team skipper Sadina Shrestha welcomed the move and said the basketball fraternity was proud to get sponsorship for the first time. 'We never had the chance to don jersey with a brand in the past. We are grateful to Li-Ning for providing us with the opportunity,' she said. National men's team captain Sadish Pradhan also thanked China Trade Links for sponsoring kits to basketball. 'This is the first occasion we have a kits sponsor and we are really grateful to Li-Ning,' he said.

China Trade Link President Maharjan said the motto of Li- Ning was to support players. 'We wanted to join hands with the NeBA a couple of years ago but it was not possible due to the unavoidable circumstances caused by ill-health of the then President Lama Tendi Sherpa and the coronavirus pandemic,' said Maharjan. 'I had been doing a lot for players individually in the past and we hope this association will help in the overall development of basketball.'

NeBA Acting President Gurung thanked the sponsors and hoped the women's team would bring home medal from their first outing donning Li- Ning kits. 'The women's team will be the first one to use the Li-Ning jersey and we are rooting on them to win medal in the SABA Championship,' said Gurung.

A version of this article appears in the print on August 24, 2022 of The Himalayan Times.