International Wheelchair Basketball League Expands to 8 Asian Countries with Record Sponsorship Deal

The International Wheelchair Basketball Federation has announced a historic expansion into Asia, launching professional leagues in Japan, South Korea, China, India, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Indonesia. The expansion is backed by a record $120 million sponsorship deal with a consortium of Asian technology companies, making it the largest commercial investment in wheelchair sports history.

The new Asian Wheelchair Basketball League will feature 24 teams across two divisions, with a regular season running from October to May and a championship tournament hosted by a rotating city each year. Player salaries will be fully professional, addressing a long-standing issue where even elite wheelchair basketball players could not make a living from the sport.

“The expansion is backed by a record $120 million sponsorship deal with a consortium of Asian technology companies, making it the largest commercial investment in wheelchair sports history.”

The sponsorship deal includes funding for 40 new accessible training facilities across the eight countries, designed to serve both league teams and community programs. Each facility will include rehabilitation services, youth development programs, and coaching certification courses, creating a pipeline of talent and professional development.

Dr. Ulf Mehrens, president of the IWBF, described the expansion as a "transformative moment" for the sport. Current wheelchair basketball strongholds are concentrated in North America, Europe, and Australia. Adding eight Asian nations more than doubles the sport's competitive geography and brings it to a region with over four billion people.

The league has already attracted significant media attention, with streaming rights secured by a major Asian platform that will broadcast all games free of charge in participating countries. This visibility is expected to drive awareness of wheelchair sports and accessibility issues more broadly.

Youth recruitment programs associated with the league launch have already identified over 3,000 young athletes with disabilities across the eight countries, many of whom had never previously had access to organized wheelchair sports. The first games are scheduled for October 2026.