ZWICKAU (Germany) – In 2023, German Wheelchair Basketball club RB Zwickau was selected as a beneficiary under FIBA Foundation’s ‘Propose A Project’ platform.

The club, established in 2020, has been actively conducting disability awareness workshops across Saxony’s fourth largest city, besides its core responsibility of running as many as five wheelchair basketball teams.

Credit: RB Zwickau

30-Year History

“Wheelchair basketball has a long history in Zwickau of around 30 years. We have around 50 club members (organization and players). Our vision is to not only show wheelchair basketball on a high level, but also we see our duty to the society to educate kids, teens and adults on the topic of inclusion,” club president Marco Förster, tells FIBA Foundation.

The club was informed about the FIBA Foundation’s Propose A Project opportunity through its National Wheelchair Basketball Federation. Besides financial support, the Foundation also supplied 60 basketballs.

“That was an unexpectedly large number of balls. Honestly, we didn´t know what to do with this amount of balls,” Förster notes, before adding that these were used to expand their pool of young players and distribute them to children from “difficult social backgrounds”.

‘Rollstuhlbasketball macht Schule’

RB Zwickau’s FIBA Foundation supported Project ‘Rollstuhlbasketball Macht Schule’ which translates to ‘Wheelchair Basketball Coming to School’, introduces the sport to educational institutions, social clubs, and companies.

This Basketball For Good project is divided into two parts — theory and practice — and has received an overwhelmingly positive response, having already reached 1000 children and young adults.

Credit: RB Zwickau

Participants are sensitized towards different forms of disabilities, learn about the rules of wheelchair basketball including its classification systems, construction of the sports equipment, and the distinction between “daily chair and sport chair”.

Among the older age groups, the project serves as a unique team-building activity and creates unforgettable moments for company employees.

‘Propose a Project’ - A “Great Opportunity”

Despite these huge positives, persisting challenges include transportation of equipment, wheelchair accessible buildings and limited manpower. But having already achieved their annual outreach targets with five months to spare, the club is confident about tackling all such growing pains.

“FIBA Foundation’s ‘Propose a Project’ is a great opportunity to get a bit of help to develop projects in sports for kids, teens and also adults who are the future of our society,” Förster concludes with confidence.

Credit: RB Zwickau

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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