By Les Tan/Red Sports

air asia abl title sponsorship

Team owners and league officials at the sponsorship announcement in KL: (From left to right): Wira Daim (Westport KL Dragons); Nadzaty Azma Azeez (Brunei Barracudas); Tony Fernandes (GCEO AirAsia); Lee Kak Kuan (Technical Director, FIBA Asia); Kuhan Foo (CEO of ABL); Sim Sin Heng, (Secretary General of MABA); Michael Johnson (Singapore Slingers); Mr. Azran Osman Rani (CEO of AirAsia X) (Photo 1 © Ted Adnan)

Kuala Lumpur, Thursday, September 2, 2010 — Budget carrier AirAsia announced their title sponsorship of the second season of the ASEAN Basketball League which will tip off on October 2nd and run until February 2011.

GE was the previous title sponsor and had signed a three-year deal. However, no word was given as to why GE had not returned.

AirAsia was the official carrier for the inaugural 2009/10 season.

“We are very excited for the new season to arrive and proud to be back in the ABL with a bigger role by being the title sponsor for the 2010/11 season,” said AirAsia Group CEO Tony Fernandes.

“As an ASEAN airline, it is our obligation to help develop the standard and quality of sports in the region. The region has a lot of untapped young talents but limited opportunities are available for them to progress further in their respective fields.

“When given the opportunity to be the title sponsor, we seized it immediately as we believe we can positively contribute to the development of the sport and provide the platform for ASEAN youths to shine. Together with our other initiatives in the region, the AirAsia ABL partnership seemed the perfect fit. It is indeed our dream to see ASEAN as a powerhouse not only in sports but other important fields as well in the near future. We will continue to do our part to make this dream a reality,” Fernandes added.

The budget carrier is working on promotional plans to encourage basketball fans to travel throughout the ASEAN region to watch their teams in away games.