FIBA and Schelde extend successful partnership for 3×3 basketball

NOVEMBER 22, 2022

MIES (Switzerland) – FIBA is continuing its trust in ABEO, a designer, manufacturer and distributor of sports and leisure equipment. The International Basketball Federation has announced that ABEO’s specialist team sport brand Schelde Sports will remain the official global backstop supplier for FIBA 3×3 basketball competitions for two additional Olympic cycles. The extension of this global long-term, multi-event partnership will include FIBA 3×3 World Tour events, the FIBA 3×3 World Cup events, FIBA 3×3 World Cup Qualifiers, the FIBA 3×3 Women’s Series Finals and FIBA 3×3 Continental Cup Finals.

ABEO-owned Schelde Sports have been an official FIBA 3×3 supplier since 2013. The international brand was appointed the sole supplier of official FIBA 3×3 backstops at the Tokyo 2020 Games, where 3×3 made its Olympic debut, under an agreement which covers also the current Olympic cycle.

“We are very proud of the long-term partnership we have built with Schelde Sports, both in basketball and 3×3,” FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis said. “This cooperation played a key role in the professionalization and development of 3×3, which was on full display at the Tokyo Olympics. We are excited to continue to provide our players with these innovative and state-of-the-art backstop units for the most prestigious FIBA 3×3 events.”

Schelde Sports, a global market leader in basketball backstop unit support systems, with a commercial presence in more than sixty countries across six continents, has been developing its products since 1892. They have been a partner of FIBA’s Equipment and Venue Centre since 1994.

ABEO Group CEO Olivier Estèves added: “We are extremely proud to extend our partnership with FIBA as official FIBA 3×3 global backstop supplier. In this strong relationship we are on a shared mission to further develop and promote 3×3 basketball. With the supply of Schelde Sports backstops to major FIBA 3×3 events, the expertise of Schelde Sports continues to be recognized around the world.”

Exciting, urban and innovative, 3×3 is inspired by several forms of streetball played worldwide and is considered the world’s number one urban team sport. Steered by FIBA, games see two teams of three players face off on a basketball half-court.

It was played successfully for the first time in international competition at the 2010 Youth Olympic Games in Singapore and since then has benefited from the launch of a yearly professional circuit for men and women (World Tour and Women’s Series respectively) and national-team competitions.