Jointly implemented by the Basketball Association of Hódmezővásárhely, Hungary and the Spartak Youth Basketball Club in Subotica, Serbia, the EU-funded Cross-border basket games (CB Basket) project comprised 13 events, including tournaments, training camps and seminars for coaches. The aim was to use sport to foster cooperation between young people from communities on either side of the border.
Basketball strengthens links between young people in Hungary and Serbia
- 26 September 2019
We have had many different events lately and we are delighted. It is very important that this time basketball plays the leading role, because sport brings together children and adults from across the border and beyond. Colleagues working in our secretariat - and everyone who has heard about the current programme - was very pleased that the two teams were working together so excellently, and they enjoyed our total support.
A total of six basketball tournaments for players of two age groups – those born in 2003 and 2004, and those born in 2005 and 2006 – were organised in Hungary and Serbia. Two joint training camps for the two age groups were held – one in Hódmezővásárhely and the other in Subotica.
Two advanced training seminars for basketball coaches and physical education teachers took place in both countries. A training session with Serbian coaches and players was put on for school children in Hódmezővásárhely. Other activities included family leisure days and outdoor streetball events. Streetball is a variation of basketball where the rules are not as strict and each player’s individual style is encouraged.
Sport as a basis for long-term cooperation
As well as promoting the sport of basketball, the wider mission of the two organisations involved in CB Basket is to use sport and related activities to support social inclusion and encourage the development of team spirit, healthy living and positive social engagement among young people.
The partners looked to build up and establish an institutional framework to achieve these ends through the active engagement in sport of young people from the border area. By investing specifically in young people – around 300 of whom participated directly in the project’s events – they intended to ensure that the model would be sustainable in the long term and lead to strong links between communities in the region.
However, CB Basket’s target groups extended to adults. Along with the coaches and physical education teachers who attended the training seminars, adult basketball players from both countries took part in the activities and were involved in training young players under the project. The knowledge acquired and the techniques and methods deployed can be used by other groups such as sports experts and managers of sporting associations.
Participation in European Cooperation Day
An important effect of CB Basket was the generation of additional publicity for sports and social issues in the region. This was enhanced by the project’s involvement in events to mark European Cooperation Day – which is designed to showcase how cross-border cooperation has improved the lives of citizens of the EU and neighbouring countries – on 21 September 2018.
On the day, CB Basket took part in an international streetball tournament involving basketball clubs from Hungary, Serbia and Romania. Over the following two days, it organised a basketball tournament for players aged 12-13. Twelve teams from the Hungary-Serbia border area took part.
Videos
Interreg IPA CBCSubotica grad sporta - 03.12.2018Košarkaški turnir u okviru IPA projekta Mađarska-SrbijaTotal investment and EU funding
Total investment for the project “Cross-border basket games – CB BASKET” is EUR 165 646, with the EU’s Instrument for Pre-Accession Assistance contributing EUR 140 799 through the “CBC Hungary – Serbia” Operational Programme for the 2014-2020 programming period. The investment falls under the priority “Encouraging cooperation in tourism and cultural heritage preservation”.