The commercial provision of the International Table Tennis Federation, World Table Tennis, has extended its deal with the Chinese premier sports brand Li-Ning.
Li-Ning will assist as the special apparel partner of WTT and will deliver apparel for referees, umpires, ITTF and WTT operators and officials at top international competitions which includes the upcoming World Championships Finals in Houston, Texas.
The extended deal between WTT and Li-NIng will run until 2022 and will see them promoting top marketable table tennis events in China. Li-Ning made a deal with the ITTF for the first time in June 2018, helping as the ITTF’s official umpire and referee apparel sponsor. They also delivered apparel for officials during the table tennis event at the Tokyo Olympic Games 2020.
With Li-Ning coming into the deal, it has helped modernise and promote the kits of referees, umpires and ball boys at international games through its deal with the ITTF.
This new agreement will bring in a new rebranded look for officials at WTT Series.
“Table tennis is a core part of Li-Ning’s business, and we are glad to have witnessed the growth in the sport first-hand since getting involved with ITTF in 2018,” commented Mr. Zhang Xiangdu, general manager of the Li-Ning Brand Project Management Centre.
He later added, “In the last years, the ITTF set up WTT to take table tennis to new heights, and we are thrilled to continue working with WTT to further promote table tennis at a global level, at the same time delivering a reimagined table tennis experience to fans.”
Matt Pound, WTT managing director, said “In 2018, the partnership with Li-Ning was a historical one. For the first time, the ITTF and the Umpire and Referee Committee had worked with a global apparel supplier to professionalise officials’ apparel.“
“This extended partnership marks the transition to a new era, where we share the vision of reimagining and redefining table tennis globally. We believe this is just a start, and we look forward to many more years of deeper collaboration as we further drive the sport to greater heights.”
The deal will include tournaments like the World Table Tennis Championships and all stages of the refurbished WTT event structure, specifically the Grand Smashes, WTT Cup Finals, WTT Champions Series and WTT Contenders Series.