Former Euroleague champions Panathinaikos have announced that they will spend a week on a China tour, which aims at expanding their brand in the European basketball clubs market.
Here is the full announcement, as translated by TalkBasket:
Panathinaikos BC announces a China tour during September 11-17 with the aim of commercial development in the region. The tour includes at least one friendly game against CBA (Chinese Basketball Association) club Foshan Long Lions, press conferences and other promotional events in the cities where the tour will take place. Those cities are Guangzhou, Foshan and Beijing.
The aim of the tour is to extend the identification of the team’s brand name by the Chinese public, the creation of tighter links with the largest market of the most populous country of the world and of course the promotion of Greek and European basketball.
Panathinaikos BC will become the first European team to play in a friendly game against a CBA level team on Chinese soil. It is definitely an innovative move which paves the way for the right development and openness of a sporting business. It is a certainty that other European clubs will follow in our foot steps.
The coordination and the logistics to finalise the trip were exhausting, but we consider that it will be worth the trouble. More details will follow soon.
