EuroLeague: Resilience and rebuilding emphasized at One Team Workshop

The 10th edition of the annual One Team Workshop took place online on Monday and Tuesday, giving managers, coaches and backroom staff from across Europe fresh ideas and inspiration ahead of another exciting season for Euroleague Basketball’s social responsibility program.

One Team is actively supported by all 42 clubs in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and 7DAYS EuroCup, with weekly sessions using the power of basketball to provide valuable support and assistance to vulnerable people in our communities.

This year’s workshop, which started two weeks ago with the announcement of the annual One Team Award winners and an introductory session for new clubs, was staged virtually due to the exceptional circumstances.

Roser Queralto, Chief Business Officer at Euroleague Basketball, said: “One Team is a great example of unity, with 42 clubs across Europe and our coordinating staff at Euroleague Basketball all working together towards the same goal: using basketball as a tool to bring communities together and create real social change, which is even more important in the difficult times we are all currently experiencing.”

The main themes of the workshop were resilience and rebuilding, with all clubs encouraged to work together, innovate, share knowledge and offer mutual support in their development of One Team activities for the upcoming season.

There were also opportunities for successful programs in the past to be celebrated, allowing One Team coaches and staff to see why certain activities have already worked well and to think about how they could be implemented within their own cities.

Another priority for the year ahead is personal development, focusing on One Team members as unique individuals, in addition to their roles with the local organizations and the wider One Team family.

Among the speakers and presenters from the clubs were: Marilisa Zanini, One Team Coach, AX Armani Exchange Milan; Penny Giovanovits, One Team Manager, Olympiacos Piraeus; Nikos Kampouris, One Team Coach, Olympiacos Piraeus; and Stefan Ludwig, One Team Coach, ALBA Berlin.

The event benefited from the insights of several external speakers, who sparked lots of new ideas by sharing their expertise. They included: Freya Levy, Michael Johnson Young Leader & England and UK Wheelchair Rugby Player; David Cohen, CEO Doc Wayne Youth Services; Greg Baker, Head of Saints Foundation and Community Partnerships, Southampton Football Club; Mary McVeigh Connor, Co-Founder & Executive Director, Soccer Without Borders.

The workshop also included activities in support of the #BeActive campaign and the European Week of Sport, which gets underway on Wednesday, September 23.

One Team, supported by Turkish Airlines as the One Team Founding Patron and with the collaboration of Special Olympics as Proud Partner, uses basketball to achieve meaningful social impact in our communities across Europe and is supported by every club in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague and 7DAYS EuroCup.

Since its founding in 2012, the One Team program has already helped more than 22,000 participants through its various team-focused projects.