Grassroots development continues in Kazakhstan with Ball'In Schools program

BEIRUT (Lebanon) - FIBA Regional Office Asia's Ball'In Schools program continued expanding its impact throughout the continent with a 3-day program in Kazakhstan from 11-13 December.

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. Earlier this year, Ball'In Schools was also organized in Saudi Arabia, Maldives, Palestine, Lebanon, Qatar, Mongolia, Jordan, and Iran.

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.

"I want to thank the Regional Office for a unique opportunity to improve the professional level of our school coaches," said Samson Arakelyan, General Manager of Astana club where the program was hosted. "Coaches in schools are key figures in the development and promotion of basketball in the country. They are the ones who bring children to basketball and most importantly keep them in our favorite sport.”

”I came here from Karaganda for this program. For a very long time, I wanted to attend such an event, and it was very interesting, and I did enjoy it. It would be great if such programs happened more often in Kazakhstan to improve the level of basketball in our country," said participant Rustam Romanov.

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