PUMA & DUBAI MUNICIPALITY UNITE TO REVAMP ICONIC BASKETBALL COURT

United Arab Emirates, Dubai, 13^th July 2022: Global sports brand PUMA has partnered with Dubai Municipality to revive one of the most established sporting landmarks in the Emirate, the Al Jafiliya stadium.

Harnessing the universal power of sport, art and innovative design, the inspirational community-driven project has restored the Al Jafiliya court from its foundations up, injecting a new lease of life into an integral part of Dubai's original street scene. The project celebrates PUMA’s re-entry into the basketball category with a strong focus on hoops and basketball culture.

With the hope of creating a long-lasting and positive impact on the sports community, PUMA has reimagined and revamped the court with Dubai Municipality to create a space that brings together the people of Al Jafiliya and positively motivates the community to continue to play basketball. The new court aims to encourage basketball culture within the youth and keep the game alive in the region for generations to come.

The project is part of Dubai Municipality’s efforts to encourage community sports, and the Al Jafiliya court, is the first in a series of sports venues that will be developed, with the aim of providing residents with more recreational facilities that promote sports and a healthy lifestyle.

HE Daoud Al Hajri, Director General of Dubai Municipality, said: "The municipality is keen to provide all amenities and entertainment for the residents of the Emirate in line with its vision to be a leading municipality for a global city, ensuring all the elements of well-being and happiness for members of society, and contributing to the consolidation of Dubai's position as the best city in the world to live in.”

He added: "Al Jafiliya Square, which opened in 2001, is one of the distinctive recreational facilities that we seek to develop continuously, as the municipality has cooperated with PUMA to carry out technical and development works for the basketball court in the square, as part of its efforts to take care of all services and facilities recreational and sports and maintaining the sustainability of the aesthetics of the civilized appearance of the Emirate of Dubai.”

The court features an incredible mural by Artist Diego Wikander which has been inspired by the local basketball community and brings to life PUMA’s belief that the court is more than just a game. The court is a stage for music, fashion, and art, and the artwork has been designed specially to inspire the community to never stop playing.

Abdelhamid Oraibi, Head of Marketing for PUMA Middle East said: “This project was a natural move for PUMA as the brand and basketball go hand in hand. PUMA Hoops is all about the culture-first mindset – we believe that sports culture is sport. This project allows us to give back to the basketball community for generations to come by giving the public a better place to play long-term. We want people to congregate, play basketball and experience public art together in this vibrant space that’s bursting with life.”

He added: “Being involved in this type of grassroots project is PUMA’s way of powering the future of the community and a new generation of basketball players. We hope that by breathing life back into this historic court we can inspire even more people in Dubai to get involved in community sports. We want to spark new conversations around basketball here in the region.”

To document the incredible project, PUMA has developed a docuseries that has been released this July that provides an insight into the soul of this talented basketball community.

Media Contact: 

Zarah Rashid, PR and Content Middle East -  zarah.rashid@puma.com

PUMA is one of the world’s leading Sports Brands, designing, developing, selling and marketing footwear, apparel and accessories. For more than 70 years, PUMA has relentlessly pushed sport and culture forward by creating fast products for the world’s fastest athletes. PUMA offers performance and sport-inspired lifestyle products in categories such as Football, Running and Training, Basketball, Golf, and Motorsports. It collaborates with renowned designers and brands to bring sport influences into street culture and fashion. The PUMA Group owns the brands PUMA, Cobra Golf and stichd. The company distributes its products in more than 120 countries, employs more than 14,000 people worldwide, and is headquartered in Herzogenaurach/Germany. https://about.puma.com/