Ali Reza Food Services Ltd., exclusive McDonald’s franchisee for the Western Region, in partnership with Tokyo Games, announced that the annual ‘Jeddah Basketball Tournament 2013’ will be hosted at the Sheraton Hotel Jeddah basketball court on February 21 and 21.

“As we are part of the Saudi community we are always keen on organizing activities for all segments of our society, and through this initiative we aim to show off the talents of Saudi youth basketball players,” said Mohammed Alireza, marketing manager of Reza Food Services — McDonald’s Development Licensee for the Western and Southern regions of Saudi Arabia.

“This year, we have 24 teams competing in the two-day tournament which will again be umpired by official basketball referees.”

Mohammed Ali Reza highlighted the substantial role McDonald’s played in communicating the importance of a healthy balanced lifestyle through sports initiatives, such as the basketball tournament and sponsorships. McDonald’s is also the official partner of the Olympic Games and FIFA World Cup.

He added: “This year’s tournament will see a unique ‘spin’ where McDonald’s Western Region and Tokyo Games will each donate SR 10 for every point scored, during the tournament, to a certain charity that we will jointly announce at the end of the final game. We are hoping that this will encourage players to score more points to contribute more to the charity.”

Mishaal Ali Reza, vice president of Marketing Alireza Holdings and exclusive owner of Tokyo Games, said: “Last year’s tournament saw a large turnout for basketball enthusiast, both players and audience, and this is what prompted us to ensure that it happens annually and we continue supporting one of the important segments in our society, the Saudi youth. This year’s tournament will see a first place prize of SR 10,000 as well as runner-up prizes for second and third and a wide range of prizes.”