BERLIN (Germany) - Everyone expected 2026 to be a milestone year, with the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Germany as its anchor, but it turned out to be much more than that.
With more than two months still left in the current year, 2026 has proven to be a major launchpad for FIBA’s Women in Basketball strategy.
At the forefront of a remarkable flurry of activity during this period were former Serbian international Tina Krajisnik and former Montenegrin international Milica Jovanovic, who discovered that projects they had conceived with a focus on young women locally, are now considered blueprints that can be followed in any FIBA region around the world.
Krajisnik and Jovanovic represented Europe with their projects at the FIBA Women Leaders’ Program Supported by Molten, which came to a close in Berlin.
The participants - two from each FIBA region - who were selected back in February, attended a a four-day leadership experience workshop during the Women's World Cup in the German capital.
Krajisnik’s project, Basketball is for Girls, created to empower girls aged 7-18 through basketball, was chosen by the panel as the grand winner of the 7,000-US dollar prize.
I truly believe that through our project - Basketball is for Girls - we are laying the foundations for something that goes beyond grassroots basketball development. Our goal is to provide young female players in Serbia with much-needed support, guidance, and mentorship, helping them grow both as athletes and as individuals.
There is one element that makes Krajisnik even prouder than winning the prize.
"As the project lead, I am particularly proud that, for the first time in our country, we are creating a program designed and delivered by current and former female national team players, giving the next generation the opportunity to learn directly from women who have walked the same path," she said.
Full Circle, the project conceived by Jovanovic, is intergenerational but one of its aspects tackles the major challenge that young women face in basketball, namely the low retention rates in the critical years before they become senior players.
Jovanovic was surprised to find that her project could resonate on a global scale.
When I started, I was thinking about girls in Montenegrin schools and towns, doing everything I could to keep them in basketball and show them that. through basketball and with it, they can aim far. What I learned is that the challenges are remarkably similar everywhere. A local project can carry a message that resonates far beyond its borders.
Despite the vast international exposure they gained during their playing careers, both project leaders agree that the joint program by FIBA and Molten helped them gain an invaluable global perspective.
"From my own experience as a player, I know how much basketball teaches us beyond the court, and I truly believe that everything we learn throughout our careers can become something valuable for the next generation," Krajisnik said.
"Programs like the FIBA Women Leaders’ Program give us the support, knowledge, mentorship, and confidence to take that experience into new roles and continue making a difference in the game we love."
For Jovanovic, the whole journey that started with submitting her project to the selection process in Europe last winter was a discovery.
"It was one of the most meaningful professional experiences I've had since finishing my playing career." - Milica Jovanovic
"Being selected to represent Europe was an honor in itself. Sitting in a room with women from different continents, all working on the same question of how to bring more girls into basketball and keep them there, made me see my own project with new eyes," Jovanovic added.
"Hearing how others solved problems I'm still facing gave me both ideas and courage. That is where I want to keep growing my work. I left Berlin with a stronger project and a bigger network.
"The Berlin experience also strengthened my belief that development, education and athletes' mental health need to go together."
Perhaps more importantly, the experience has fueled their motivation and determination to continue developing their projects and pursue new ones.
"For me, it is also about recognizing that we, as current and former players, have a responsibility and a unique opportunity to give back to basketball, create opportunities for young girls, and help shape its future in our counties and beyond borders," Krajisnik said.
Jovanovic added: "It has given me the energy to keep building. At the moment, we are pairing former players with girls and combining basketball, psychology, personal branding and financial education.
"The next step is to grow the program and, one day, bring our girls to the biggest stages of the game, like the EuroBasket or the EuroLeague Women Final Six, so they can see where this path can lead."
FIBA