MIES (Switzerland) – The ball may have first bounced in Switzerland, but the swishes were also heard in Brazil.
Such is the transcontinental impact of FIBA Open.
What is FIBA Open?
Every year, FIBA Foundation’s flagship grassroots 3x3 tournament is held at the Patrick Baumann House of Basketball in Switzerland. The festive weekend sees participation from surrounding regions, accommodating all ages and categories.
Since 2024, FIBA Open has also become a fundraising event, supporting a non-profit Basketball For Good initiative each year.
In 2025, it was Brazil’s Rocinha favela that benefited.
Rocinha’s Reality
The sprawling hillside neighborhood of Rio de Janeiro is home to around 72,000 people. The stunning cityscape vistas from Rocinha contrast sharply with the struggles within.
Could the power of basketball be used to initiate positive change inside Rocinha?
FIBA Foundation Youth Leader Layana de Souza certainly thought so, leading her to establish Mudando o Placar (MOP) in 2022.
“Rocinha is the largest favela in Brazil and faces many social challenges - including inadequate housing conditions, limited access to organized sports facilities, especially for basketball, underfunded schools, low access to higher education, unemployment among youth, and the constant presence of drugs and armed gangs,” says de Souza, FIBA Foundation Youth Leader and founder of MOP.
Changing the score
Inspired by Nelson Mandela’s iconic assertion that ‘sport has the power to change the world’, Mudando o Placar, which is Portuguese for ‘Changing the Score’, is improving the conditions of vulnerable and at-risk children in Rocinha through basketball-based activities.
All proceeds from the FIBA Open 2025 went to MOP, which used them to organize a 3x3 tournament last November.
The tournament featured 20 teams, with nearly equal numbers of boys and girls, battling inside the Rocinha Sporting Complex across the U14 and U17 age groups.
In all, 48 games were played, besides a mental health session led by psychologists and psychology students from UNISUAM University.
Broadly, the tournament addressed three Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): Good Health and Well-Being, Gender Equality, and Partnerships for the Goals.
This last goal was achieved by MOP partnering with four other basketball-based social projects that use sport as a tool for social transformation across Rio de Janeiro.
Support put to good use
Qualified referees were engaged to ensure fair play. An MC was hired to energize the crowd with music. Medals were awarded to the winning teams. Basketballs were supplied to the coaches, supporting the development of the sport beyond the tournament. There were also Basketball For Good bracelets as souvenirs for players, and Basketball For Good t-shirts for referees and volunteers.
Snacks were provided to the players, meals for staff and volunteers, popcorn for attendees, and even a graffiti activation that helped bring art and culture into the event experience.
None of this would have been possible without the fundraising generated by FIBA Open.
“More than just a basketball tournament, this event became a celebration of community, inclusion, and the positive values of sport. Without this funding, none of this would have been possible,” Ms de Souza emphasizes.
Presence at FIBA Open
Earlier, Ms de Souza had travelled to Switzerland to use FIBA Open 2025 as a platform to raise awareness about the work of her organization.
“Being present at the FIBA Open represented an opportunity to break barriers, go beyond borders, and connect completely different realities through basketball. It allowed us to explain not only what we do, but also why this work matters so much within communities like Rocinha,” Ms de Souza reflects.
So much so, that inspired by the Family Category at FIBA Open, Ms de Souza and her team also created a smaller tournament exclusively featuring Mudando o Placar’s family members, thereby strengthening family bonds through sport.
Bigger than the game
With FIBA Open 2026 under a month away, the Mudando o Placar example is a timely reminder of how FIBA Open is more than just a tournament.
“It represents hope – hope for continuity, hope for social impact, and hope for a better future for hundreds of young people who may never personally attend FIBA Open, but whose lives can still be transformed because of it,” Ms de Souza attests. “Every participant, partner, and supporter becomes part of something much bigger than the game itself.”
FIBA Open 2026
The 12th edition of FIBA Open will be held on 20-21 June 2026 at the Patrick Baumann House of Basketball in Mies, Switzerland. With an emphasis on inclusion, competition categories range from under-10 to over 40 years old, while passing through Family, Wheelchair, and Special Olympics.
Interested participants and volunteers can learn more and register here.
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The FIBA Foundation is the social and legacy arm of FIBA that addresses the role of sports and particularly basketball in society, preserving and promoting basketball’s values and its cultural heritage.
The FIBA Foundation believes that basketball has the power to empower, educate and inspire youth and facilitates this by implementing Basketball For Good projects around the world.
FIBA