Hoops For Schools - the 360-degree school model impacting youngsters beyond the basketball court through gamification
FIBA Europe, as the basketball governing body in Europe, has been investing a lot of resources into youth development, converting it into one of the biggest assets for the international basketball federation. Through the Youth Development Program, FIBA Europe introduced National Federations in 2025 to the pilot launch of the Hoops For Schools (H4S) project.
The successful pilot was followed by the global rollout of the innovative school program, as well as the launch of the dedicated official website in January 2026.
The main goal of the Hoops For Schools project is to encourage kids and youngsters from all over Europe to participate in a multi-dimensional basketball program targeting primary schools (children between 6 and 12 years old) and to raise awareness about the importance of physical activity benefiting from the use of the new technologies to maximize the impact.
The school resources will utilize the game of basketball as a vehicle to impact the children in developing mental, physical, and social skills on multiple levels by:
Learning and understanding the fundamentals of basketball through fun and engaging game-based activities → DISCOVER BASKETBALL
Educating on social values like inclusion, tolerance, respect, peace, non-discrimination, equality, justice, non-violence, and sustainability → BASKETBALL FOR GOOD
The FIBA Foundation, as the social and legacy arm of FIBA, will help develop the social school resources showcasing the diverse Basketball For Good actions they implement globally.
Thanks to the use of new technologies and a gamification approach, H4S will raise awareness and interest in sport and enable behavioral changes for consumption through innovative and fun/engaging activities.
Schools and PE teachers participating in the program will receive a set of digitalized tools introduced thanks to user-friendly platforms to facilitate accessibility to the developed resources. These new tools will help federations and schools to develop structured and sustainable programs linked to their national curriculum.
H4S will open a new era for the FIBA Europe Youth Development Program; it presents an excellent opportunity for the European National Federations to build bridges between schools, local clubs, and the whole community to attract new youngsters to basketball.
Any FIBA affiliated federation anywhere in the world that is interested in implementing H4S can contact the project leaders at hoops4schools@fiba.basketball or visit the dedicated website for more info
Together, let’s make basketball the heartbeat of schools worldwide - raise your hand and play!