FIBA, the International Basketball Federation, has intensified its global growth strategy with a series of new commercial and media agreements that expand the sport’s reach across apparel, broadcast distribution, and digital streaming. The collection of deals stretches across Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, and the global 3×3 basketball ecosystem, signalling one of the federation’s most significant multi-market pushes in recent years.
The updates include a global apparel partnership for 3×3 basketball, long-term media extensions in Finland, Italy, and France, an exclusive English-language broadcast deal in sub-Saharan Africa, and a landmark renewal of FIBA Media’s international rights agreement with DAZN through 2041.
FIBA has selected FOURTEEN, the Swiss performance apparel company, as the official global supplier for all FIBA 3×3 events from 2026. The agreement brings custom competition uniforms designed specifically for the 3×3 format, alongside limited-edition retail drops aimed at the sport’s rapidly growing youth audience and urban fan base.
In Finland, FIBA has renewed its partnership with Nelonen Media through 2029. The broadcaster’s streaming platform Ruutu+ remains the exclusive home of FIBA competitions in the country, aligning with the rising popularity of national-team basketball and Finland’s recent on-court momentum.
In Italy, FIBA has agreed a new multi-year deal with Sky. The agreement covers men’s and women’s national-team fixtures, Olympic qualifying events, World Cup and EuroBasket qualifiers, and youth championships through 2029. Coverage under the new contract begins with Italy’s World Cup 2027 qualifier against Iceland.
France has also secured expanded coverage through a new four-year agreement with beIN SPORTS. French audiences will receive comprehensive access to the 2026 Women’s Basketball World Cup, the 2027 Basketball World Cup, continental tournaments, and the full youth competition portfolio.
Basketball fans across sub-Saharan Africa have been brought into this next phase of FIBA’s expansion through an exclusive English-language broadcast partnership with ESPN Africa. The deal runs to 2029 and ensures consistent access to FIBA’s major events, including men’s and women’s World Cups, continental championships, youth World Cups, Olympic qualifiers, and AfroBasket competitions. With more than a thousand games set to air across the cycle, the agreement significantly strengthens the visibility of global basketball in one of the sport’s fastest-growing regions.
Beyond regional broadcast distribution, FIBA has reinforced the long-term stability of its centralised media rights model through DAZN’s renewal of the global FIBA Media contract. The extended agreement runs until 2041, securing continuity for event production, data integration, and long-term digital operations across all major FIBA tournaments.
The combined impact of these commercial moves is substantial. FIBA’s 3×3 property gains a dedicated apparel identity designed for global rollout, while national-team basketball secures long-term visibility in three of Europe’s most established markets and an expanded footprint across sub-Saharan Africa. The DAZN renewal locks in two decades of operational certainty for the federation’s core media ecosystem at a time when the sports streaming marketplace is shifting rapidly.
These developments arrive as global basketball continues a period of strong commercial traction. Preparations are underway for the next World Cup cycle, the 3×3 discipline is expanding its Olympic presence, and national-team basketball remains a reliable driver of broadcast audiences across Europe and Africa.
On the court, the 2027 Basketball World Cup qualifying process is already in motion. Italy hosts Iceland this week as part of its early campaign, while France continues its preparations for the upcoming qualifying window. Africa’s qualifiers for the next World Cup cycle begin soon, giving ESPN Africa an immediate slate of high-impact fixtures to introduce the partnership.
Looking ahead, the buildup to the 2026 Women’s Basketball World Cup, combined with the next rounds of Men’s World Cup qualifiers across Europe and Africa, will give broadcasters a deep calendar of premium live programming. With these expanded agreements in place, FIBA’s competitions will reach audiences with stronger consistency, elevated production quality, and long-term commercial alignment across key global markets.
