France and NBA pledge to promote sustainable development goals in sport

PARIS : The French government and the U.S. National Basketball Association (NBA) announced commitments on Thursday to make sport meet sustainable development goals such as by limiting its impact on the climate and by being as socially inclusive as possible.

The commitments came as French President Emmanuel Macron hosted various world leaders and International Olympics Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach in Paris, a day ahead of the Olympics' formal opening ceremony.

"There is no room for hate in sport," said Macron.

NBA Deputy Commissioner Mark Tatum said the NBA would work with the French Development Agency (AFD) and other partners around the world to build 1,000 basketball courts in Africa over the next decade.

Macron added that the AFD would invest 500 million euros ($543 million) to make sport meet those sustainable development goals.

Macron is holding a whirlwind round of political and corporate meetings ahead of the Olympics' opening ceremony on Friday.

($1 = 0.9207 euros)