Euroleague Basketball’s new partner, SEK, nourishes with goodness

Euroleague Basketball is proud to announce that Turkey's innovative dairy brand, SEK, is the newest member of its family of regional and Final Four partners. SEK has signed a three-year deal that makes it the EuroLeague sponsor that nourishes with goodness and contributes to children's healthy growth through sports.

The agreement was celebrated on Tuesday at a signing ceremony and press conference in Istanbul that was attended by Jordi Bertomeu, Euroleague Basketball’s President and CEO, by Arzu Aslan Kesimer, General Manager of Tat Gida, and by Mehmet Refik Öner, Assistant General Manager of Tat Gıda.

Having contributed to children's physical and social development with projects, the company now plans to further those goodwill efforts by partnering with Europe's most prestigious basketball competition. The announcement came three days before the 2017 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Final Four tips off in Turkey's largest city, providing SEK with unmatched visibility at the event and its consumers with a first-hand experience of the best of European basketball.

The new partnership expands the successful Euroleague Basketball strategy of offering regional sponsors multi-level communications and marketing platforms on which to share common values and commitment to excellence as exemplified by the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and the 7DAYS EuroCup. The fast growth of audiences for both competitions with a total of 445 games in the 2016-17 season and teams from 13 countries is proof that quality is a magnet that attracts both consumers and companies.

"I can't think of a better moment, right before the Final Four, to welcome SEK to our family of partners," Jordi Bertomeu, President & CEO of Euroleague Basketball, said. "The desire of SEK to be part of our competitions is gratifying because it represents another leading company that sees its own values of helping children and nourishing with goodness reflected in what happens on our basketball courts. Those same shared values are the reason why fans are following the EuroLeague and EuroCup in much greater numbers than ever. This season's Final Four will be followed, as those before it, by hundreds of millions of fans across more than 200 territories on every continent. Turkey has been an epicenter of the EuroLeague's growth over the years, and with four teams competing well again this season, now more than ever."

SEK produces Turkey's top-selling pasteurized milk as well as other dairy products that enjoy large shares of the country's market. SEK identified basketball as an endeavor that helps promote growth in children, as do its milk products, and from there chose Euroleague Basketball as the best example of excellence and quality in the sport.

"As the brand that nourishes with goodness, we are very happy to join forces with EuroLeague and grow together," Ms. Kesimer said. "We are integrating different sports and educational projects in our brand SEK. We are proud to cooperate with one of the world's most prestigious sports organizations, Euroleague Basketball. We are not only attaching importance to providing natural and high-quality dairy products to our children, but also nourishing them with goodness. We care about their social development as much as we do about their physical progress. Hence, we know that sports are one of the most beneficial areas. Milk's contribution to physical development is a self-evident fact; we think that basketball contributes greatly to both physical and social development, thus we consider this partnership and this cooperation with Euroleague very important."

The launch of the agreement means that SEK will be an integral part of the biggest weekend in world basketball, as the Final Four brings non-stop games and activities to Istanbul that will be followed countless fans around the world.

"Euroleague is a very important basketball organization followed by hundreds of millions of fans not only in Turkey, but throughout the whole world, with games that are broadcasted live in more than 200 territories," Mr. Öner said. "This strong presence not only encourages and develops basketball, it also supports the values that basketball represents and contributes to passing on these values – team spirit, fair play, cooperation in joint causes, and development through endless effort – to basketball fans. We at SEK are choosing to support Euroleague in order to 'nourish with goodness and grow with goodness' the new generations in accordance with these values."