Organisers of the annual British Asian Sports Awards (BASA) today announced that leading international mobile services provider, Lebara will be taking on the mantle of title sponsor.The awards will now be known as the Lebara British Asian Sports Awards, and Lebara will also be sponsoring and presenting the British Asian Sports Personality of the Year Award. The sponsorship will also see a complete re-brand of the BASA identity and website.
The BASAs, which this year celebrate a decade, pride themselves on recognising and celebrating the substantial achievements of British Asian sporting talents from across the UK. As well as honouring professionals who have already proved themselves within the sporting arena, BASA is a unique institution for raising the profile of talented amateur and semi-professional South Asians involved in sport and nurturing that talent even further.
Neeraj Arora, Executive Vice President and Head of International Business for Sony Entertainment Network, organisers of the awards, said of the partnership: “This is a landmark year for the BASAs and I am delighted that we are starting our new decade with a partner like Lebara. Their ethos for nurturing new and celebrating existing talent from ethnic communities sits perfectly with what we stand for.”
Ratheesan Yoganathan, Founder and CEO of Lebara Group added: “Lebara’s goal is to help communities stay connected wherever they are in the world. Sport rouses in communities a passion and loyalty that drives them to pick up the phone and share their experiences. We believe there is a wealth of home-grown talent from ethnic communities which should be encouraged so it makes as much impact in the sporting arena as it has in others. We are proud to lend our support to Asian sporting talent as the title sponsor of the British Asian Sports Awards 2011.”
The Lebara British Asian Sports Awards will take place on Saturday 5th March 2011, at the Grosvenor House Hotel, London. The event will mark a decade of British Asian sporting success, with some of the biggest names in the industry coming together under one roof to honour a new generation of sports stars.