Sheffield Sharks chief Yuri Matischen believes 777 Partners investment into BBL will be game-changer for basketball

Basketball in Britain is to receive the kind of investment that can take the sport to the next level and build on the huge participation numbers it boasts.
Jordan Ratinho playing for Sheffield Sharks (Picture: Dean Atkins)Jordan Ratinho playing for Sheffield Sharks (Picture: Dean Atkins)
Jordan Ratinho playing for Sheffield Sharks (Picture: Dean Atkins)

That is the verdict of Yuri Matischen, long-time owner of the Sheffield Sharks and British Basketball League board member, after it was announced on Monday that an investment firm has purchased a 45 per cent stake in the league.

Miami-based 777 Partners, who already own BBL team London Lions and European football clubs Sevilla and Genoa, will put an initial £7m into the professional league to deliver an ambitious plan that will span the entire sport, from community grassroots through to the overall infrastructure of the elite game.

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With these funds, the BBL want to introduce four new franchises into the league, put additional resource into the women’s league, work with the governing body to improve the Great Britain teams and tap into the huge partipation numbers that sees basketball as the second most played team sport in the UK.

Yuri Matischen the chairman of Sheffield Sharks has been lobbying for this day for years. (Picture: Simon Hulme)Yuri Matischen the chairman of Sheffield Sharks has been lobbying for this day for years. (Picture: Simon Hulme)
Yuri Matischen the chairman of Sheffield Sharks has been lobbying for this day for years. (Picture: Simon Hulme)

It is a game-changing amount of money, something Matischen – who founded a team in Sheffield back in 1991 – has lobbied hard for.

“It’s quite remarkable that through the pandemic this opportunity has arisen,” he told The Yorkshire Post. “It looks like an overnight success but it’s been worked on for nearly two years.

“We’ve always thought that in order for us to go to the next level, we need investment.”

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The successful ownership by 777 Partners of the London Lions, Britain’s leading team in the men’s and women‘s game, fills Matischen with confidence that they can make a success of the whole league.

Sheffield Sharks' Aaron Anderson in action (Picture: Dean Atkins)Sheffield Sharks' Aaron Anderson in action (Picture: Dean Atkins)
Sheffield Sharks' Aaron Anderson in action (Picture: Dean Atkins)

“Here’s an investor who has bought into a team in the Lions, arguably the biggest brand when you consider London, and have taken them into Europe and produced the best results any British team have done at that level. And now they’re investing in the league.

“What they’re saying is they can invest in London, but the league has got a glass ceiling, so we want to build and invest in the league and improve that.

“The ambition is to have better-funded, stronger clubs and more franchises of a higher standard throughout the country, and I know that will make the most of basketball being popular between five and 20-year-olds. According to the Active Peoples’ Survey, between the ages of five to 20, basketball has double the numbers than are playing hockey, cricket, netball, rugby league, rugby union.

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“What we need to do is capitalise on that, but we’ve lacked the resources to do it.

“We’re a sport with a huge amount of potential, have been for a long time. We cannot provide metrics that football, rugby union and even rugby league can. We couldn’t deliver that until we got some investment. It was chicken before the egg.

“This company has seen the potential, they know it’s a risk, but they’re willing to invest.

“It’s not just a windfall cash day – it’s an investment programme into the league and into the clubs to make us stronger, and help us generate our own revenues.”

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