NBA Africa and KFC Africa announce marketing partnership

JOHANNESBURG, May 17, 2022 – NBA Africa and KFC Africa today announced a marketing partnership that will see NBA Africa and KFC Africa collaborate on a number of promotions and activations for basketball fans across eight countries on the continent: Botswana, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Namibia, Nigeria, Senegal and Tanzania.

Through the partnership, KFC Africa and NBA Africa will launch co-branded product campaigns, limited-edition merchandise giveaways, and limited-edition KFC x NBA promotions, including the opportunity for basketball fans to win tickets to live NBA games in the U.S. and complimentary access to NBA League Pass, the league’s premium live game subscription service.  Additional details about the promotions will be announced at a later date.

“We are proud to announce this exciting partnership between our iconic KFC brand and one of the most epic sports brands in the world,” said KFC Marketing Director, Rest of Sub-Saharan Africa, Emmanuel Kasambala.  “As a brand that has been on the continent for 50 years, we are passionate about connecting with the youth at the touchpoints that really mean something to them.  So, beyond the extremely cool products and merchandise we will offer, we have longer-term plans to inspire the youth to achieve more in life through basketball.  We are exploring various grassroots basketball initiatives, like the refurbishment of courts, and basketball clinics in communities.  It is about inspiring and enabling the youth to reach for, and achieve, their dreams.”

“We are excited to partner with KFC Africa to launch a series of fan-centric activities and promotions as part of our efforts to provide compelling ways for basketball fans across the continent to engage with the NBA,” said NBA Africa CEO Victor Williams.  “We want to meet our fans where they are and make the game of basketball more accessible, and through this partnership with one of the world’s most iconic food brands, we look forward to reaching new and existing fans and providing them with more opportunities to experience the NBA.”

For the latest news and more information on the competitions, prizes and programmes, fans can follow #KFCBalling on social media.

About KFC

KFC has been in Africa for over 50 years and has over 1200 restaurants across South Africa and the rest of sub-Saharan Africa.  The first KFC restaurant to open in South Africa was in 1971 in Orange Grove, Johannesburg.  KFC’s Original Recipe® Chicken was first made by Colonel Harland Sanders in 1940 when he perfected his secret recipe of 11 herbs and spices at his restaurant in Kentucky.  Today, KFC is the world's most popular chicken restaurant, still preparing our chicken with the Colonel’s secret recipe to his exact standards.  Every KFC restaurant follows the same global processes and procedures to make sure that our customers get great tasting food, every time.

About NBA Africa

NBA Africa is a standalone entity that conducts the NBA’s business in Africa, including the Basketball Africa League (BAL), and was formed in May 2021.  The NBA has a long history in Africa and opened its African headquarters in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 2010 before opening additional offices in Dakar, Senegal, and Lagos, Nigeria.  The league’s efforts on the continent have focused on increasing access to basketball and the NBA through grassroots and elite development, social responsibility, media distribution, corporate partnerships, NBA Africa Games, the BAL and more.

NBA games and programming are available in all 54 African countries, and the NBA has hosted three NBA games on the continent since 2015.  The BAL, a partnership between the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the NBA, is a new professional league featuring 12 club teams from across Africa.  Fans can follow @NBA_Africa and @theBAL on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.