After just having been involved in supporting the 'Final Eight' of the Eurocup basketball contest, Iveco now officially enters the world of basketball as from 1st August, Iveco will become the official partner of the Italian National Basketball Team.

After having been involved in supporting the “Final Eight” of the Eurocup basketball contest, held in Torino during the month of April 2009, Iveco now officially enters the world of basketball.

From 1st August, Iveco will become the official partner of the Italian National Basketball Team, that is currently preparing for a game which will count towards the European Championship, to be held in Poland (7th – 20th September). Iveco’s first official engagement will be at the side of the ‘Azzurri’ next week in Cagliari where, on 5th August Italy will meet the French national team for the first game for access to the Continental Festival.

The ‘Azzurro’ team,  trained by Carlo Recalcati represents the jewel in the crown of a collaborative relationship with the Federation that will involve Iveco also in the national woman’s’ team, that recently won the gold medal at the Mediterranean Games, and also with the youth team.

In the scope of this new collaboration, formalised by a contract, initially for one year, Iveco will supply the FIP with two ECODAILYs, the light commercial vehicle from the Iveco stable, recently updated in terms of style and content, that will serve to transport both material and members of the various national teams. It will, therefore, be a good opportunity to put on show to the world of basketball Popeye, hero of the animated comic strip bringing a natural element in his love for spinach from which he finds his super-human strength and testimonial also to ECODAILY with which he shares his values of positive strength, naturalness and simplicity.

The initiative establishes further evidence of the links uniting Iveco with the world of sport whose values, such as loyalty, team spirit, commitment, and performance, Iveco has always shared and has chosen to support the people and the sporting events at the top level in harmony with its international identity.

It was relevant also during the time of its sponsorship of the Soccer World Cup in Spain in 1982, in the Athletics World Championships in Helsinki in 1983 and at the recent Winter Olympic Games held in Torino in 2006. Iveco is also official supplier to the Ferrari Scuderia and the Yamaha Moto GP Racing team, the team of the world champion, Valentino Rossi. Iveco is also official sponsor of the All Blacks, the world famous New Zealand national rugby team and the Italian National Rugby team, sharing values closely with the world of rugby.