SHEFFIELD SHARKS
SHEFFIELD
SHARKS
“
Yuri Matischen, Chairman of the Sheffield Sharks, came to Sheffield in 1988 to help stage the
1991 World University Games and ended up spearheading one of Britain’s most successful
men’s basketball clubs, the Sheffield Sharks.
Firstly established as an amateur club in 1991, Matischen
and the successful Women’s and Wheelchair Clubs were
at the heart of the Sharks’ development. The big step came
in the 1994-95 season when the club enticed music mogul
and sports fan, Chris Wright (Chrysalis Records) to invest
in the club and purchase a British Basketball Premier
League franchise. The journey had begun!
In its first year, the Sharks rose to instant stardom with Head
Coach Jim Brandon, (a former NBA draft pick), amazingly
winning the League and Cup double in the Sharks’ first
season. “No one had predicted it”, said Matischen, who at
the time was the General Manager of the Sharks, “and it
set a standard we have fiercely tried to maintain over two
decades!”
The Sharks, playing out of televised venues such as Ponds
Forge, Sheffield Arena and for the last 8 years, the superb
English Institute of Sport, have made the club into a strong
and youthful brand with its own junior programme.
“Not many realise that basketball, between the ages of 1425, is England’s second most played team sport behind
4
ISSUE 02
In its first year,
the Sharks
rose to instant
stardom with
Head Coach
Jim Brandon,
(a former NBA
draft pick),
amazingly
winning the
League and
Cup double in
the Sharks’
first season.
“
A huge legacy of The Games were fantastic indoor facilities
that inspired business and sports enthusiasts to develop
new sporting teams within the City. Basketball was one of
them.