Nike Joins March Madness and Final Four, This Time in Africa

(Bloomberg) -- Nike Inc. is hoping basketball in March offers marketing opportunities in Africa as readily as in the U.S.

The maker of Air Jordans and sports clothing is partnering with the Basketball Africa League, a collaborative effort of the National Basketball League and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), on a new league across the continent. The competition will take place in seven African cities next March, coincidentally when U.S. college basketball is in the throes of March Madness, its season-ending tournament.

The 12-team professional league will play a total of 30 games, ending with a Final Four (sound familiar?) elimination tournament in Kigali, the capital of Rwanda, according to a statement.

While the championship game may not bring the hype of, say, Duke versus North Carolina at Chapel Hill, there’s big money at stake. Europe, Middle East and Africa is Nike’s second-biggest market after North America, with almost $10 billion in annual revenue.

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