MIES (Switzerland) - Just six months after inception, the FIBA Safeguarding Excellence – Single Point of Contact (SPOC) Course is already established as a key pillar of FIBA's commitment to helping to enable basketball to be played in a safe and supportive environment, while also setting a benchmark for safeguarding education in sport.
Launched in October 2025 alongside the FIBA Safeguarding Toolkit and freely available to professionals across all sports, it forms part of FIBA's strategic objective of Sustainability and Innovation - highlighting the continuous drive to advance the highest standards of protection and accountability.
A six-month analysis of the early impact of the FIBA Safeguarding Excellence – Single Point of Contact (SPOC) Course has underlined the wide reach and appeal of the initiative, particularly the diversity of participants.
It has brought together stakeholders from across all areas of the basketball ecosystem - including National Federations, clubs, leagues, academies, schools, and governing bodies, as well as individuals from other sports.
Notably, a significant majority of participants are directly engaged with children or individuals in situations of vulnerability, underlining the importance and practical relevance of the training. This breadth of representation has created a rich and valuable learning environment, where participants can benefit not only from the course content but also from the exchange of experiences and perspectives from peers. The course is generating impressive levels of engagement for an e-learning program, with over 2,800 reactions and 1,700 forum contributions from participants. It also reflects a diverse and highly active cohort from all the FIBA regions, with a balanced gender split: 91% involved in basketball, including a third from National Federations; 79% working with children or vulnerable groups; and a broad mix of roles including executive leadership, coaching, player development and integrity. Meanwhile, direct feedback mechanisms have shown that satisfaction indicators are consistently high across all aspects, including overall experience, course format, and relevance to participants' roles.
Patrick Mariller, member of the FIBA Safeguarding Council and FIBA Chief Operating Officer, commented: "We are pleased with this six-monthly analysis of the SPOC Course. It provides positive evidence of the early impact of this free and accessible initiative - particularly around levels of engagement and satisfaction.
"We will continue to innovate across all aspects of safeguarding, further demonstrating FIBA's dedication and relentless commitment to safe sport, while helping ensure basketball is played in consistently safe and supportive environments."
The FIBA Safeguarding Excellence – SPOC Course is a free online program, available in English, French, and Spanish, aimed at training individuals to serve as Safeguarding Single Points of Contact within their organizations.
Essential topics covered include the role and responsibilities of a SPOC, how to recognize, respond to, and report safeguarding concerns, building safe environments, drafting and approving safeguarding policies, conducting safeguarding risk assessments, and developing tailored safeguarding plans.
This SPOC course is open to anyone from the wider basketball community, including non-basketball organizations, and reinforces FIBA's vision of raising safeguarding standards across the globe. Click here for more information about the course and to register.
For more information regarding safeguarding, click here. If you wish to report a case of abuse, click here or send an email to safeguarding@fiba.basketball.
FIBA