Turkish Airlines joins Euroleague Basketball

Turkish Airlines and Euroleague Basketball announce today a strategic agreement to sponsor the top European basketball competition across the globe. According to the agreement, starting next season the top European competition will be named Turkish Airlines Euroleague Basketball. Similarly, the Euroleague Final Four now becomes the Turkish Airlines Euroleague Final Four whereby the new league title will appear in all media accordingly. This title partner will run for five seasons, with the option of extending it to an additional five.



This agreement is also very important for Euroleague Basketball, as it is the first time in history that the league associates its name with a brand.



This is not the first time that Turkish Airlines and Euroleague Basketball have partnered. During the recent 2010 Final Four in Paris, Turkish Airlines was one of the Euroleague Basketball’s main partners. That experience showed that both parties not only share the sporting values of teamwork, commitment and fair play, but also complementary platforms and markets. The new agreement will allow both Euroleague Basketball and Turkish Airlines to enhance their commitment to the core European markets they share as well as to expand into others internationally. The agreement goes beyond the economic investment and reaches into other areas such as Euroleague Basketball’s corporate responsibility program, Euroleague for Life, in which Turkish Airlines will take an active role.



With this agreement Turkish Airlines have also become a global sponsor of Eurocup, the biggest basketball competition in Europe after Euroleague Basketball.



Additionally, Turkish Airlines will also obtain extensive branding rights. Among these rights are a composite Euroleague logo consisting of the logos of both parties, advertising film using the Euroleague players, extensive on and off-court logo and brand visibility in almost 350 games in all the Euroleague and Eurocup games televised by 197 broadcasters globally.



Euroleague Basketball is followed across the globe by fans of all age, gender and social background, and in the past ten years has experiences a monumental growth. With this first-time agreement, the new Turkish Airlines Euroleague Basketball enters a new era that seeks to offer increased economic potential that will offer significant support to the competition’s clubs and fans. Equally, the partnership reinforces Turkish Airlines’ position as a leading European airline carrier, who has also experienced an extraordinary growth over the past ten years and who has demonstrated a reiterated strategic positioning and commitment to the development of professional sports across the continent.



“We have been working for a long time to find the right title partner that could satisfy not only the economic value of becoming a title sponsor but becoming a partner, with a commitment to the growth of basketball across the globe. We feel satisfied to have reached this agreement and to join forces with Turkish Airlines on what we consider as an integrated partnership model. We feel that Turkish Airlines is a perfect fit as title partner for the competition, not only for the track record in committing to professional sports across the continent, but also through our mutual commitment to developing activities off the court,” said Euroleague Basketball CEO Jordi Bertomeu. “This agreement will enable Euroleague Basketball to make progress on four fronts: institutional, commercial, promotional and social. The international vision and globalization that we have at Euroleague Basketball is shared fully by Turkish Airlines and its managers, which makes this agreement a milestone in the history of the sport of basketball.”



“After great partnerships with Barcelona FC and Manchester United, two of the most important football brands, it is a privilege for us to partner with the Euroleague, one of world’s most prestigious basketball organizations and Europe’s biggest basketball league”, said Mr. Hamdi Topçu, the Chairman of Turkish Airlines. “The Euroleague title sponsorship is a strategic step in reinforcing the strength and value of our brand in the global platform. As a consequence of all the investments in our brand the glamour of Turkish Airlines will reach its peak very soon. This partnership is also important as it will enable us to establish a more effective communications between our brand and potential clients in Europe, a market that brings the highest revenue in which THY flies to more than 70 destinations.”



There will be an official signing ceremony held before the Euroleague 2010-2011 opening game scheduled for 18th of October 2010.