Hong Kong, 29 November, 2024 – Realeague, the sports holding company committed to unlocking the potential of Asian basketball, has entered a 10-year partnership with Asian University Sports Federation (AUSF) to create a pan-regional collegiate league,starting 2025, to strengthen exchanges among Asia’s top university basketball programs.

The signing ceremony held in Hong Kong was joined by Jintian Jay Li, Founder and CEO of Realeague, and Seetow Cheng Fave, Secretary General of AUSF, who pledged their commitment towards building the league and associated programs that will support athletic excellence and spotlight elite student athletes across some of the region’s iconic higher education institutions.

Sanctioned by AUSF and operated by Realeague, the new league’s first season will start in the second half of 2025. Realeague and AUSF will work closely to identify the universities and unveil the annual calendar in the coming months.

“College basketball is the bedrock of Asian basketball’s future and awaits a huge potential to be unleashed,” said Li. “A pan-regional league is our answer to the calling. We are very excited to join force with AUSF to start building the right platform that encourages positive sports rivalries and supports talent development at the university level.”

Said Seetow: “Basketball is incredibly popular across Asian universities. AUSF is committed to creating better competition platforms for students to participate in. We are thankful to Realeague for their partnership and investment to build the pan-regional collegiate league. It will certainly contribute to elevate the level of competitiveness of university basketball across the region.”

To celebrate this groundbreaking partnership, Realeague is hosting Asian University Basketball Challenge from 28 November to 1 December at the Sun Yat Sen Memorial Park Sports Centre in Hong Kong. As a test event for the league, the invitational tournament brought basketball teams from six universities in Korea, Japan, Mainland China and Hong Kong, notably including Tsinghua University, Peking University, Yonsei University and City University of Hong Kong.

Added Li: “Hong Kong has what it takes to be the sporting capital for college basketball of Asia. Many student athletes currently participating in the Asian University Basketball College are first-time visitors to Hong Kong and they are absolutely loving it. With Kai Tak Sports Park’s completion, I see the possibility that the city can be a regular host for some of Asia’s most storied college basketball games in the near future.”

As a part of its commitment to community development in Hong Kong, Realeague partnered with InspiringHK Sports Foundation to organize a basketball clinic during the invitational tournament for more than 40 junior and high school students in the city. Participants in the age group of 13 to 18 were coached by university teams’ coaches and players along with Realeague’s staff for basketball skills, dribbling, shooting and teamwork.

About Realeague: Realeague is a sports holding company committed to unlocking the potential of Asian basketball through investments and operations of pan-regional competitions across professional, collegiate and youth levels. Realeague will launch a pan-regional university league in partnership with Asian University Sports Federation (AUSF) starting 2025. In September 2024, it held the first-ever APAC Women’s Basketball Challenge in Haikou, China, bringing together elite women’s basketball teams from China, South Korea, and New Zealand. Realeague is also the creator of the Greater Bay Area International Sports Business Summit, which held its first edition in February 2024 in Macao that welcomed 500+ distinguished speakers and guests from around the world, including Alibaba Chairman and Brooklyn Nets Owner, Joe Tsai; IOC commercial chief, Ann-Sophie Voumard; CBA President, Yao Ming; NBA Legend, Dwyane Wade, and many others. Realeague is invested by Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund’s Greater Bay Area Fund, managed by Gobi GBA.

About Asian University Sports Federation: Established in 1992, the AUSF aims at providing a platform for all university students in Asia to exchange and interact through sports. The national university sports federation in each country/region may apply for membership of AUSF and join all programs and events organized by the Federation. As of 2024, AUSF has a total of 41 members. When the Federation was established in 1992, there was only 10 founding members; membership of AUSF has grown significantly in the last 30 years.

About InspiringHK: InspiringHK Sports Foundation is a local charity which obtained tax exemption status in 2013 (91/12703), with a vision of empowering better youths through sports. Their mission is to provide equal sports training opportunities for underprivileged children, youths and those with special educational needs, at the same time promote gender equality, social inclusion and healthy lifestyle. They carry out their mission through district-based and territory-wide sports programmes and public education activities.