Zim among winners of Break and Believe campaign

ZIMBABWE together with four other national federations has been selected as winners of the International Basketball Federation Break and Believe campaign.

The other winners are China, Egypt, Greece and Turkey.

The Break and Believe programme, done in partnership with FIBA’s “Her World, Her Rules” project, is being highlighted this week at the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2022 in Sydney, Australia.

The objective has been to increase the participation of girls in basketball by recruiting more players at school age through various activities.

Basketball Union of Zimbabwe (Buz) president Joe Mujuru said: “As Buz we are pleased with this achievement. One of the things we are pushing is to have more girls participate in the sport. This is confirmation of the work we are doing to achieve our goals when it comes to having more female representation in the sport.”

FIBA decided that girls’ interest in the sport would improve if they were given the opportunity to meet and listen to current and former players, and coaches, and to hear stories about how they grew in self-belief by playing basketball, and how they overcame challenges in their careers.

An eight-person panel of judges comprised representatives from FIBA and TCL determine which five National Federation campaign videos best captured the spirit of the project. These five federations will now receive products including a TCL TV and sound bar.

Yuki Wei, vice-president of TCL Technology said: “At TCL, we strongly believe that those we inspire today will inspire us tomorrow. Thank you for making this campaign a great success and I am thrilled to see more girls join this sport and reach their full potential.”

Additionally, TCL also has its global campaign #TCLforHer on display at the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2022, with TCL further committed to empowering girls and women across the world. The goal of Break and Believe was not only to attract more players to basketball but to help them become better, more confident people. All participants will receive a certificate and a Women in Basketball photo book as a memento. Women in Basketball is a strategic priority for FIBA and increasing female participation in the sport through various projects and initiatives is one of its goals. — @innocentskizoe