MUNICH (Germany) - The second part of FIBA Europe's TIME-OUT 2.0 program, aimed at creating synergies between National Federations and other stakeholders, is set to commence in the continuation of the hugely successful TIME-OUT initiative.

Supported by EU Commissioner for Innovation, Research, Culture, Education and Youth including Sport, Ms. Mariya Gabriel, WiLEAD (Women in Leadership) and SWISH (Sports Policies and Integrity) programs both tie into the strategic FIBA pillars of Women in Basketball and Empowerment of the National Federations.

"As a Union, we strive to empower everyone to realise their full potential, no matter their background or gender. And Sport is no exception. We want more girls and women in Sport," said Commissioner Gabriel.

"To achieve this goal, FIBA has always been a key partner of ours, participating in our Erasmus+ programme via the Women in Leadership or WiLEAD project or through our Preparatory Actions, with the European Women's Basketball Summit project that gives opportunities to female coaches and referees from European countries to improve their competences and acquire new skills through learning mobility."

WiLEAD has been built on the successful initiative of FIBA Adelante in the Americas and has been designed to identify, educate, motivate and develop the next generation of female leaders in management and administration, whilst also increasing gender diversity by creating new pathways and support network. Meanwhile, the mission for the SWISH program is to focus on the importance of being compliant with integrity policies and successfully understand FIBA's regulations.

Both of the additional educational projects - open to the employees of all European National Federations - are part of the National Federation Skills, Exchange & Mobility Program (SEM) and are co-funded by the EU's Erasmus+ Sport program. They will look look to strengthen and improve upon the knowledge and skills of key sport policies through the combination of online learning and various workshops.

For more information on the WiLEAD and SWISH programs, click here.

The first edition of the TIME-OUT project produced 75 graduates

"We are very excited and proud to see our TIME-OUT 2.0 project continuing to provide unique opportunities for our National Federations and I'm confident WiLEAD and SWISH will set an even higher standard with the support of the European Union and the continued involvement of our esteemed supporting partners from the International Olympic Committee, the European Olympic Committees, UEFA, the academic world and others," said FIBA Executive Director Europe Kamil Novak.

"These programs reflect our strategic objectives as an organization and are the key pillars in our mission to develop and promote the sport of basketball and unite the community."

Both programs begin with a three-day webinar later this month, followed by a second session in March. There will also be in-person workshops taking place in Italy over the course of three days with Rome hosting the SWISH program in June, while the WiLEAD program's will take place in Trieste in July, as well as project work throughout the summer.

TIME-OUT 2.0 began virtually in the summer of 2020 as 52 players enrolled in the specially designed FIBA-led Manager course at Northumbria University, which focuses on helping basketball players make the transition into possible new careers.

The graduation for all 112 participations of TIME-OUT 2.0 is set to take place at the Patrick Baumann House of Basketball in Mies, Switzerland later this year, in late August-September, 2021.

With financial support from the EU's Erasmus+ Sport program, TIME-OUT 2.0 is organized in partnership with Northumbria University at Newcastle, German Sport University Cologne, Sports Aid Trust (TASS), International Basketball Foundation and the National Federations of Czech Republic (CBF), Italy (FIP), France (FFBB), the Netherlands (NBB) and Hungary (MKOSZ).

 FIBA