Towering mountains in the background, glistening Lake Geneva in the foreground and a feast of inclusive 3x3 basketball at the centre of it all! At the recent FIBA Open in Mies, Switzerland, 11 Special Olympics teams gathered from 15 to 16 June 2024. Beyond the picturesque location and intensive competition on court, the event represented an important annual milestone in the powerful, ongoing partnership between Special Olympics and the FIBA Foundation.
The partnership, which was formalised six years ago after the Special Olympics World Games in Abu Dhabi, renewed at the FIBA World Cup in Manila in 2023, was a natural fit for both organisations from the start. Miroslaw Krogulec, Special Olympics Europe Eurasia’s Vice President of Sports and Organizational Development, discussed how the key priorities of our organisations align. He said, “Both of our organisations have a focus on supporting the development of youth leaders, 3x3 basketball, mini-basketball, and of course, mission-inclusion. This is the case not only in Europe but globally.”
Speaking from the Patrick Baumann House of Basketball in Mies—the venue for the FIBA Open—Theren (TJ) Bullock Jr, Senior Manager with the FIBA Foundation, concurred. He noted, “The FIBA Foundation exists because basketball is an incredibly popular sport which impacts so many people worldwide, and with that comes a responsibility to grow the basketball community as much as possible to include everyone. Special Olympics is an important part of the global basketball community who we want to include.” He added, “The idea is that anyone and everyone can find their place and feel safe playing the sport they love. Our job is to enable that.”
Having a Special Olympics category in last six editions of the FIBA Open—the biggest 3x3 tournament in Switzerland with over 1,100 players in total—is a clear message of inclusion for people with intellectual disabilities in the FIBA family. Observing the finals on court on Sunday morning, Miroslaw commented, “It is a truly inclusive event. Our Unified teams are treated in the same way, with complete dignity, as every other team.”
Developing 3x3 basketball has also been a central thread of the partnership. Miroslaw added, “Over 70 Special Olympics Unified teams from 25 countries have attended the last six editions of the FIBA Open 3x3. We are looking for more female players and women’s teams to play in in the future.”
Theren commented, “The FIBA Foundation supported with the development of 3x3 basketball in Special Olympics. I think that the inclusion of Special Olympics in the FIBA Open allowed for 3x3 basketball to become more widely accepted across the organisation.” Theren believes that 3x3 is particularly suited to the Special Olympics Unified Sports model. He added, “With fewer players on court, everyone has the chance to play their part, offensively and defensively.”
The growth of 3x3 basketball in Special Olympics shows no sign of slowing down. Miroslaw noted that a global 3x3 basketball event is being planned in Puerto Rico in December 2025. A total of 40 Unified teams, both male and female and from all regions, will compete.
As for the FIBA Open in Switzerland, the hope is that participants will eventually be drawn from all corners of the global. Theren concluded, “This year we had a team from China as well as the many European teams. That was amazing. In the future, it would be great to have a Special Olympics team from every region in the world.”
