By Ayomide Otitoju
Nestlé and the National Basketball Association (NBA) have entered into a multiyear international marketing partnership that will make Milo, Nescau and Nesquik Official Partners of the NBA.
The agreement covers 21 markets across four continents, including Nigeria, and is Nestlé’s largest international brand collaboration to date. It will take effect on January 1, 2027.
The partnership is aimed at engaging basketball fans and encouraging youth participation in the sport through programmes, events and fan engagement platforms.
In Nigeria, the agreement builds on Milo’s more than two-decade involvement in youth basketball development through the Milo Basketball Championship.
Nestlé and the NBA will create opportunities for young people and families to participate in basketball through selected youth development programmes, including Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA, NBA Basketball School, Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Coaches Academies, Her Time To Play and NBA 3X.
The partnership will also feature selected NBA events and fan engagement platforms, including NBA Global Games and NBA House, as well as retail programmes and in-market experiences.
These initiatives will include on-pack promotions featuring NBA branding and opportunities for consumers to win NBA tickets, merchandise and other prizes.
Liberato Milo, Senior Vice President and Head of the Confectionery & Snacking Strategic Business Unit at Nestlé, said the partnership would help the company use basketball to connect with consumers and encourage young people and families to stay active.
Nestlé Nigeria Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Wassim Elhusseini, said the partnership would build on Milo’s longstanding contribution to basketball development in Nigeria.
“Basketball has become an important part of the Milo story in Nigeria, creating opportunities for young people to participate in sport while developing values such as discipline, resilience, teamwork and self-belief,” Elhusseini said.
He said the partnership would connect Milo’s commitment to basketball in Nigeria with a global platform and create more opportunities for young people to participate in the sport.
The Milo Basketball Championship, now in its 26th edition, reached more than 13,000 schools across Nigeria in 2026, providing opportunities for young people to compete while developing life skills through sport.
NBA Senior Vice President of Commercial Development and Media, Julie Morris, said the league looked forward to using Nestlé’s global reach and local presence to engage fans and support the growth of basketball worldwide.
The partnership will also cover Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, France, Germany, Ghana, Italy, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States and Vietnam. The Philippines will join the partnership from October 2027.
