MIES (Switzerland) – As always, there is more than basketball at play at the FIBA Open. But this year’s 11th edition was made extra special as it welcomed young refugees associated with Van For Life.
Since 2015, FIBA Open has championed the inclusive nature of hoops, with over 1000 players across generations, genders, and capabilities coming together to celebrate the game in a safe environment.
FIBA Open in more ways than one
Through the last two iterations, the large-scale grassroots 3x3 competition that opens the doors of FIBA headquarters to surrounding communities has also served as an important fundraiser for Basketball For Good projects backed by the FIBA Foundation.
Beyond the on-court action, quiet strides are also being made to deepen the social impact and legacy of FIBA Open in unexpected ways.
Perhaps no one exemplifies this better than Van For Life’s Dimitri Montanini.
Montanini started off supervising the shuttle buses at the FIBA Open. From ferrying players to transporting refugees, the ‘moving’ parallels between Montanini’s work at FIBA Open and his Van For Life organization is striking.
Last Mile Support
Founded in 2022 at the start of the Ukrainian conflict, Van For Life (VFL) offers pragmatic and easier-to-deploy last-mile ‘direct’ assistance for victims of forced displacement. Thanks to its light, mobile, and responsive structure, the association intervenes where urgent needs are not sufficiently covered by large NGOs.
The unaccompanied minor refugees (UMRs) VFL supports, hail from countries deeply affected by war or acute humanitarian crises, such as Afghanistan and Sudan. They often travel on foot, braving unbelievable odds in transit countries, facing smugglers, soldiers and police, being exploited, and sometimes beaten or worse. As widely documented, many risk their lives crossing the Mediterranean Sea in makeshift, rickety boats.
Surviving the arduous passage is unfortunately only the first step in the long road towards full assimilation.
Assimilation Challenges
“When these young people finally reach their destination country, often not of their choosing, they face new challenges: learning an unknown language after years out of school, administrative procedures, uncertainty about their residency status, prejudice, absence of family, and any social or professional reference,” Montanini tells FIBA Foundation.
Specifically in Switzerland, VFL also works towards integrating these young migrants within local communities. From teaching them French, to providing vocational training and placing them in “relay families” as they transition into adulthood, VFL hand-holds these newcomers as they adapt to their novel environs.
Elaborating further, Montanini says:
“It is vital to develop a mutually beneficial relationship between the local population and young refugees. These young people are eager to create a network and integrate but cannot do so without help outside official support channels, which lack resources at this level.”
Hence, earlier this year, VFL partnered with FIBA Open to invite some of these youth as volunteers.
Basketball as an integrative tool
As it turns out, sports, particularly basketball, have proven to be an excellent integrative tool.
Take the case of 17-year-old Rustam from Afghanistan and 16-year-old Ammar from Sudan.
Both were part of the table officiating staff at the 2025 FIBA Open, working alongside referees and learning how to keep score on digital devices.
“The FIBA Open was a very enriching experience for me. I got to know a world I didn’t know, having never played basketball. I also met many very nice people from the public and FIBA. I attended some very exciting matches!” Rustam tells us.
“We have some Sudanese players who are very good at basketball; their success is a source of inspiration for young people back home and we follow them,” adds Ammar.
Overcoming Cultural Differences
The social interaction is especially valuable for Rustam, who had to adjust to the cultural differences between his Afghan upbringing and Switzerland, where “you can’t just walk down the street and talk to people.”
Ammar has his own improbable journey to share:
“I knew nothing about Switzerland before. I arrived here by chance. In Sudan, we speak English and I wanted to go to England, but I was advised not to because I would have to cross the sea again and it was very dangerous.”
Paying It Forward
Like Rustam, Ammar also benefited from being at the FIBA Open, as it gave him a chance to expand his network beyond fellow refugees.
“The VFL association allows us to take part in several types of activities like this one. It’s a good way to meet local people and discover things,” Ammar says, before quickly adding, “I’d like to do it more often if I could, but you have to leave room for others too.”
It's this astounding sensitivity and humanity these young refugees retain, despite, or precisely because of, their own vulnerable pasts, that validate the work of organizations like VFL.
Promising Futures
“Anything that allows me to meet new people helps me integrate, and sporting events bring a lot of people together,” Rustam positively notes. “I really like sports in general. I practice MMA three times a week. It’s different from basketball but not so much, because discipline is also necessary to train, progress, and win. It’s the same for work.”
“Here in Switzerland, I feel safe and that’s good. I’ll keep working and that way I’ll speak three languages: Arabic, English, and French,” says Ammar, already charting an “advantageous” future.
Basketball for Good is reaping tangible rewards.
The endeavor will be to include more such young people in the FIBA Open 2026.
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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