Nestlé and Nigeria’s National Basketball Association (NBA) have announced a multi-year international marketing partnership covering 21 markets across four continents, including Nigeria.
Under the agreement, Nestlé brands Milo, Nescau and Nesquik will become Official Partners of the NBA.
The partnership, which takes effect on Jan. 1, 2027, will include activations across selected NBA youth basketball development programmes and platforms.
Nestlé said that the agreement was its largest international brand collaboration to date, reflecting its strategy of focusing on fewer and larger global marketing platforms.
The partnership is designed to engage basketball fans and encourage youth participation in sport across the participating markets.
In Nigeria, the collaboration will build on Milo’s more than two-decade support for youth basketball development through the Milo Basketball Championship.
Nestlé said that the partnership would provide opportunities to inspire more young people and families to become active through basketball.
The collaboration will include selected NBA youth development programmes, including Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA, NBA Basketball School and Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Coaches Academies.
It will also feature Her Time To Play and NBA 3X, as well as selected NBA events and fan engagement platforms.
According to the companies, these will include NBA Global Games and NBA House.
Liberato Milo, Nestlé’s Senior Vice President and Head of Confectionery and Snacking Strategic Business Unit, said that sport had long been central to the company’s brands.
“For decades, our brands have believed in the power of sport to bring out the best in people,” Milo said.
He said that the partnership would enable Nestlé and the NBA to connect with consumers at scale and create locally relevant experiences.
He added that the collaboration would also inspire more young people and families to get active and enjoy basketball.
The partnership will further include retail programmes and in-market fan experiences, including on-pack promotions featuring NBA branding.
Consumers will also have opportunities to win NBA tickets, merchandise and other prizes through the promotions.
Wassim Elhusseini, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Nestlé Nigeria, said that basketball had become an important part of the Milo story in Nigeria.
“Basketball has become an important part of the Milo story in Nigeria, creating opportunities for young people to participate in sport,” Elhusseini said.
He said that the sport had also helped young people develop values, including discipline, resilience, teamwork and self-belief.
According to him, the partnership connects Nestlé Nigeria’s longstanding commitment to basketball with a global platform.
Elhusseini said that the collaboration would help deepen engagement with basketball and inspire more young people to get active and discover their potential.
The Milo Basketball Championship, now in its 26th edition, reached over 13,000 schools across Nigeria in 2026.
Nestlé said that the championship provided young people with opportunities to participate in competitive basketball, while developing important life skills through sport.
Julie Morris, NBA Senior Vice President of Commercial Development and Media, said that Nestlé had a longstanding connection with consumers across the globe.
She said the NBA looked forward to leveraging Nestlé’s reach and local market presence to connect with fans and support basketball’s continued growth globally.
The partnership covers Australia, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, France, Germany, Ghana, Italy, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico and New Zealand.
Other participating markets are Singapore, Spain, Thailand, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States and Vietnam.
The Philippines will join the partnership from October 2027.
GIK/APA