BEIRUT (Lebanon) - FIBA Regional Office Asia's Ball'In Schools program continued expanding its impact throughout the continent with a 4-day program in Baghdad, Iraq from 9-12 January.

Ball'In Schools is a grassroots basketball development project that aims to help plant the seeds of love for the game of basketball at a young age, especially in schools. In previous years, Ball'In Schools programs were held in Bhutan, Laos, and Oman, which were well-received in each respective country. In 2022, Ball'In Schools was also organized in Saudi Arabia, Maldives, Palestine, Lebanon, Qatar, Mongolia, Jordan, Iran, Kazakhstan, and Turkmenistan.

The program addresses the current and common challenges that slow down the development of basketball, such as the insufficient presence of the sport in schools; the absence of age groups competitions and tournaments, or the low quality of basketball infrastructure and limited accessibility. Ball'In Schools does so by empowering local ambassadors with a program to push for basketball in schools. These programs are trained by experts selected by the FIBA Regional Office Asia, where the ambassadors use what they've learned and take the initiative further to introduce or raise awareness.

Mohammed Muneen Mohammed, a participant, said: “The course which was divided between theoretical and practical lectures was very useful in that we learned the basics of dealing with children and the way we can build the unity training which suits them. I am really blessed to be part of this program and hope to be part of the next one.”

Ibraheem Kareem Adnan, another participant said: “I work as a coach for the young age groups in Basra. I encountered many difficulties in dealing with young players, but after joining this course, I learned how to train and find different methods to deal with the young players. The lectures included both theoretical and scientific aspects and I'm very pleased to benefit greatly from this.”

Dler Othman Rasool, another participant said: “Ball’In Schools was developed as an initiative to overcome the challenges in a way that would be locally led and thus both effective and self-sustainable. Research has shown that the earlier schoolchildren get familiarized with a sport, the longer they are likely to play the game. Consequently, raising basketball awareness in schools would promote the sport by making students more likely to follow games, get other people to play, and make the sport more popular overall in the country.”

The idea behind Ball'In Schools is the empowerment of local ambassadors to have a self-sustainable grassroots development program. Having more players and increasing the demand for basketball on its own should be the driver of the program to lead to long-term growth of basketball.

FIBA