yallawizards .
That’s how the NBA’s newly created Washington Wizards Arabic social media accounts are signing their posts as part of a new campaign to connect the basketball franchise with an Arabic-speaking audience.
Late last week, the Wizards became the first NBA team to launch Arabic-language accounts on Twitter and Instagram as part of a campaign to increase the team’s international presence.
“We’re excited to add Arabic-language social platforms to our global portfolio,” said Jim Van Stone, Head of Wizards. “We know Arabic-speaking basketball fans will enjoy our content and feel more connected to the Wizards.”
Translation: Anthony Gill welcomes you to the new Washington Wizards Arabic channels. Follow us on Twitter and Instagram to find out more.
The team said the new channels are also a way to connect with Arab-American fans in the Washington, DC area.
Sports teams around the world have been pushing to connect with international audiences, including in the Middle East. Most of the top European football teams have social media channels in Arabic. Qatar is set to host the FIFA World Cup next month, the first time the tournament has been held in the region.
The NBA itself launched social media channels in Arabic this year.
So far, the Wizards’ Arabic accounts have posted articles that mirror those on their English accounts, including updates from a preseason game against the Charlotte Hornets on Monday.
In one of the first messages on Friday, team striker Anthony Gill greeted supporters with “Assalamu alaikum”, which means “Peace be upon you”.
“We really enjoy being in contact with our Arabic-speaking friends throughout the year,” he said.
A consistent feature of the posts so far has been the hashtag “yallawizards,” which roughly translates to “Come on, wizards.” “Yalla” is an Arabic word of encouragement associated with cheering on sports teams.
The launch of the Wizards’ Arabic social media accounts coincided with the first NBA games in the Arab world, as Abu Dhabi hosted two preseason games between the Milwaukee Bucks and Atlanta Hawks last week.
“As the NBA continues to grow globally, we look forward to visiting Abu Dhabi and furthering the league’s goals of inspiring people through basketball,” said Milwaukee Bucks President, Peter Feigin, in a statement outlining the matches in May. “We will be proud to represent our city, our state and Bucks fans around the world in October.”
The NBA has hosted games in Paris, London and China in recent years. Players from outside the United States and Canada have also increased in number and prominence in the league, with Greek striker Giannis Antetokounmpo and Serbian center Nikola Jokic winning Most Valuable Player awards in the four last years.
The new NBA season kicks off Oct. 19 with the San Francisco-based Golden State Warriors looking to defend their title.
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