NBA, Al Mana Fashion Group To Open First NBA Stores In Middle East

The NBA and Al Mana Fashion Group announced a partnership that will see the opening of the first NBA stores in the Middle East. The first two NBA stores are scheduled to open in Doha, Qatar, during the '16-17 NBA season, with additional stores in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to follow. The stores will provide a range of official NBA merchandise and memorabilia including apparel, jerseys, footwear, sporting goods, toys and collectibles (NBA). In Abu Dhabi, Andrew Scott wrote Al Mana Group "did not give a time frame on the opening or location of the subsequent openings." The NBA outlets "will look to enhance the growing number of sport-themed outlets in the UAE." The UEFA Champions League Experience, a retail and casual-dining outlet operated by Dubai-based retail group Marka, "opened in Yas Mall in June last year and Cafe Diego, an official link-up with the famed footballer Diego Maradona, is now open at the Nation Galleria Mall in Abu Dhabi." Both outlets "show live football" (THE NATIONAL, 6/22).