UPPING THE GAME
Ms Sheila Rasu, head of marketing at NBA Asia, noted that youths here typically only get to compete with peers within the country.
“We think that it is important to have even more playing time, even more competing time,” said Ms Rasu.
“By (us) inviting their peers from around the region, they are able to see how other countries and territories play, what their level is (and) how they can (improve) to that level.”
The National Sports Participation Survey released in 2023 showed that basketball was the fourth most popular sport among teens aged 13 to 19, after jogging, badminton and walking.
The festival is among the nation’s sports tourism plans.
“When this chance came to work with the NBA to bring something here, we worked very hard at it. This adds to what we’ve done together in partnership with the tourism board to bring world class sporting events to Singapore,” said SportSG CEO Alan Goh.
Talks are underway to secure some star power for the event, said Ms Rasu.
“At the moment, we are still talking to a few of them. It’s going to depend on their schedules in the summer. The season is still going on, so we’ll have to wait it out. But we are definitely talking to both current and retired players, both from the NBA, and also the WNBA (Women’s NBA),” she said.
SPORTS TOURISM IMPACT
If the sporting personalities do make an appearance – even if they do not play in Singapore – their presence would build up buzz around the sport, which has the potential to elevate the country’s status as a sports tourism destination, said Mr Nicholas Fang, managing director of Novastella Consulting, a Singapore-based consultancy with expertise in brand partnerships and sponsorships.
“Having a multi year deal to bring in events is a great step forward to boosting the stable of sports events that we have in Singapore that are global, high-profile (and) have a broad appeal across demographics, and potentially will draw people from other countries to come here as a destination to consume the product as well,” he told CNA’s Singapore Tonight.
He added that such events also can have an impact on the sports culture in Singapore.
“These events are also just a catalyst to get more young people interested and excited about sports and saying ‘maybe I want to do that as a career’ as well,” he said.
