Nestlé and the National Basketball Association (NBA) have announced a multi-year international marketing partnership that will make Milo, Nescau and Nesquik official partners of the NBA across 21 markets on four continents, including Nigeria.
The partnership, which takes effect on January 1, 2027, will focus on fan engagement and youth participation in basketball, with activations planned across selected NBA youth development programmes and platforms.
For Nigeria, the partnership builds on Nestlé’s longstanding association with youth basketball through the Milo Basketball Championship, which has supported school-level basketball development in the country for more than two decades.
The 2026 edition of the championship, now in its 26th year, reached more than 13,000 schools across Nigeria, according to Nestlé.
Under the new partnership, Nestlé and the NBA will create opportunities for young people and families to engage with basketball through programmes including Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA, NBA Basketball School, Jr. NBA/Jr. WNBA Coaches Academies, Her Time To Play and NBA 3X.
The collaboration will also extend to selected NBA events and fan engagement platforms, including NBA Global Games and NBA House, alongside retail programmes and in-market experiences.
Speaking on the partnership, Liberato Milo, Senior Vice President and Head of Confectionery & Snacking Strategic Business Unit at Nestlé, said the company’s brands had long been associated with sport and youth participation.
He said the partnership would enable Nestlé to use basketball to connect with consumers while creating locally relevant experiences and encouraging young people and families to participate in sport.
In Nigeria, Nestlé Nigeria Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Wassim Elhusseini, said basketball had become an important part of the Milo story in the country.
According to him, the Milo Basketball Championship has provided opportunities for young people to participate in sport while developing values including discipline, resilience, teamwork and self-belief.
“This partnership with the NBA builds on that strong foundation, connecting our longstanding commitment to basketball in Nigeria with a truly global platform,” Elhusseini said.
The partnership is also expected to feature consumer promotions, including NBA-branded on-pack activities and opportunities to win NBA tickets, merchandise and other prizes.
NBA Senior Vice President of Commercial Development and Media, Julie Morris, said the league looked forward to using Nestlé’s international reach and local market presence to engage fans and support the growth of basketball.
The agreement covers markets across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, South America and Oceania, with the Philippines joining from October 2027.
For Nigeria, the partnership adds an international dimension to an established school basketball programme that has introduced generations of young people to competitive sport.
