FIBA Foundation's Basketball For Good Initiative Expands with Global Sport for Good Consortium

The initiative aligns with the IOC's strategic goals, emphasizing partnerships with international sport federations to boost community workforce capabilities, improve social impact measurement, and deliver sport programs tailored to participants’ needs, focusing on education, health, and inclusion.

As a result of this partnership, the FIBA Foundation has concentrated on creating social impact resources, training Basketball For Good leaders, and implementing its methodology throughout the FIBA ecosystem. Central to these efforts is the Basketball For Good Playbook, a practical resource designed to help organizations foster positive social outcomes through basketball. This playbook reflects the Foundation’s vision of establishing an educated, empowered, and interconnected global community, offering structured guidance aligned with development goals such as Health and Wellbeing, Gender Equality, and Climate Action, while incorporating safeguarding and positive coaching practices.

To facilitate the use of the Basketball For Good Playbook, the FIBA Foundation introduced the Basketball For Good Facilitator program, employing a train-the-trainer model to enhance local capacity and expand influence within the basketball community. The program has conducted workshops in the Americas and Oceania, training 31 facilitators from 20 National Federations to implement the Playbook effectively in various contexts. This approach aims to create a multiplier effect, extending the reach of the Basketball For Good initiative and boosting its global impact.

The initiative has also integrated Basketball For Good principles throughout the broader FIBA ecosystem, reaching beyond dedicated social impact programs. For instance, Hoops for Schools, FIBA’s grassroots initiative, introduces young students to basketball in a fun and inclusive manner. First launched in Europe, this program is now active in 18 European countries and is set to expand worldwide.

Another initiative, the Mascot Education Program, is part of the legacy strategy for the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2026. This program utilizes a tailored version of the Playbook’s Gender Equality chapter to empower Youth Leaders to promote girls' participation in basketball and highlight positive female role models, creating a lasting legacy beyond the tournament.

Additionally, the Foundation has improved its approach to measuring and demonstrating social impact. Through the Global Sport for Good Initiative, the FIBA Foundation has furthered its Basketball For Good Theory of Change, developed new Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL) tools, and contributed to a shared framework for assessing sport's social impact. These advancements aid in consistent data collection, robust evidence generation, and deeper understanding of basketball's contributions to health, inclusion, and community development.

Committed to creating an informed, empowered, and connected global Basketball For Good community, the FIBA Foundation will continue its collaboration with the IOC, other International Federations, and partners like Think Beyond and Sporting People to enhance basketball's role as a vehicle for positive social change. Moving forward, the Foundation plans to pilot new MERL tools to improve impact measurement for Basketball For Good initiatives worldwide, while Basketball For Good Facilitators will further build local capacity and deliver impactful programs.