Leading international sportswear brand Kappa will become the official and exclusive apparel sponsor to the British professional basketball leagues and Great Britain national teams.

This ground-breaking agreement is a first for British basketball, in that it covers all the top teams for men and women across the three organisations of British Basketball League (BBL), Women's Basketball League (WBBL) and all men's, women's and junior Great Britain international teams.

Commencing at the start of the 2016-2017 season for an initial three year period, the deal includes a significant investment from Kappa - as well as the provision of a wide range of sportswear, including track suits, playing uniforms, training uniforms and leisure wear for all clubs and teams.

"The agreement with Kappa is excellent news and marks a significant first for British basketball", said Nick Humby, the independent Chair of the British Basketball Federation (BBF).

"It is a real positive and clearly demonstrates how GB Basketball, BBL and WBBL are working together to achieve a higher awareness of the sport.

"This announcement also follows on from the live streaming of BBL and WBBL games via Skysports.com and Webcastsport.com, who have come together with Hawkeye Innovations in a pioneering collaboration to stream basketball events live and free-to-air worldwide.

"The airing of the BBL Cup and WBBL Trophy Finals on 17th January from the Barclaycard Arena in Birmingham is particularly exciting and with the addition of the Kappa partnership, it is yet more positive news for British basketball and its long term objectives".

Meanwhile Kappa UK Managing Director, Mark Ward, is thrilled with the deal and commented: "We are delighted to be appointed as exclusive apparel sponsor to the British Basketball League, the Women's Basketball League and all Great Britain international teams.

"We are also excited about moving the relationship forward. We have been operating in our brand new UK office since 2014 and are keen to increase our market penetration in all team sports such as football, rugby and other major sports.

"Our agreement with British basketball is another positive step towards achieving this goal."

Bob Hope, Commercial Director of BBL, WBBL and GB Basketball added: "We are thrilled to appoint Kappa as our official and exclusive apparel sponsor for three years from the start of the 2016/2017 season. This is a significant development towards uniting the sport under one brand.

"Kappa is a relatively new brand to the basketball community in the UK, but it is well-known and respected internationally, with partnerships such as the Argentina national team, Le Mans Sarthe Basket and Tango Bourges to name but a few.

"We are looking forward to growing our relationship over the three year period and trust that it will be as beneficial for Kappa as it will be for British basketball".