MIES (Switzerland) – Since 2024, the Global Sport for Good consortium has united the International Olympic Committee (IOC), World Rugby, World Athletics, the Badminton World Federation, and FIBA around a shared mission: to amplify sport’s impact on health, inclusion, education and community development.
The initiative aligns with IOC's strategic pillar, prioritizing collaboration with International Sport Federations to further advance and strengthen the capacity of community workforce, improve social impact measurement and deliver sport programs shaped around the participants and delivering social outcomes around education, health and inclusion.
Through this collaboration, the FIBA Foundation was able to focus on developing social impact resources, educating Basketball For Good leaders, and integrating its methodology across the FIBA ecosystem.
At the heart of this work is the Basketball For Good Playbook, a practical implementation tool designed to help organizations intentionally create positive social outcomes through basketball. Developed around the Foundation’s vision of building an educated, empowered, and connected global Basketball For Good community, the Playbook provides structured guidance aligned with different development goals and outcomes, notably Health and Wellbeing, Gender Equality, and Climate Action, while embedding safeguarding, trauma-informed, and positive coaching principles throughout.
To support the implementation of the Basketball For Good Playbook, the FIBA Foundation launched its Basketball For Good Facilitator program, adopting a train-the-trainer approach to build local capacity and scale impact across the basketball community.
Through immersive workshops in the Americas and Oceania, 31 facilitators from 20 National Federations were equipped with the knowledge, tools, and practical skills to lead Playbook delivery in their own contexts. By empowering regional leaders to educate and mentor others, the program is creating a multiplier effect that will extend the reach of Basketball For Good and strengthen its long-term impact worldwide.
The initiative has also helped embed Basketball For Good principles more deeply across the wider FIBA ecosystem, extending its reach beyond dedicated social impact programs.
Through Hoops for Schools, FIBA’s grassroots initiative that introduces young students to basketball through fun, inclusive and engaging learning experiences, Basketball For Good content is being used to strengthen both educational and social outcomes. First launched in Europe, the program has been delivered in 18 European countries and is now expanding globally.
Another example is the Mascot Education Program, developed as part of the legacy strategy for the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2026. Drawing on a specially adapted version of the Basketball For Good Playbook’s Gender Equality chapter, the program equipped Youth Leaders to use basketball as a tool to promote girls’ participation, empowerment, and positive female role models, creating a legacy that extends well beyond the event itself.
Alongside community workforce development, the Foundation has strengthened how it measures and demonstrates social impact. Through the Global Sport for Good Initiative, the FIBA Foundation has advanced its Basketball For Good Theory of Change, developed dedicated Monitoring, Evaluation, Research and Learning (MERL) tools and contributed to a shared consortium framework for measuring sport’s social impact. These efforts support more consistent data collection, stronger evidence generation and greater understanding of how basketball contributes to health, inclusion and community development.
Guided by a vision to create an educated, empowered and connected global Basketball For Good community, the FIBA Foundation will continue working with the IOC, fellow International Federations, and delivery partners Think Beyond and Sporting People to strengthen the role of basketball as a tool for positive social change.
Building on the foundations established through the Global Sport for Good Initiative, the FIBA Foundation is now moving to the next phase to pilot new MERL tools which will strengthen impact measurement of Basketball For Good Playbook activities globally.
At the same time, Basketball For Good Facilitators will help build local capacity and equip practitioners to deliver high-quality and impact-driven programs. Together, these efforts will drive greater social impact through basketball worldwide. ***
About FIBA Foundation
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.