【Project Activities】

Held joint wheelchair basketball training sessions between the Saitama Lions and Athlete Ibrahim, who competed as a member of the Refugee Paralympic Team at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games.

【Project Background】

This project was implemented following an introduction from ATHLOS, an organization that supports Athlete Ibrahim. It was realized upon Ibrahim’s own request to participate in high-level wheelchair basketball training in Japan during his visit to the country.

【Project Objective】

To promote mutual understanding, international exchange, and competitive support through wheelchair basketball.

【Project Area】

Peacebuilding through sports

【Methods】

Support for hosting events・ Tournaments

【Outcomes】

As the direct beneficiary, Athlete Ibrahim enhanced his personal skills and experience by participating in high-level training. He expressed his desire to transfer the training methods and techniques he learned to his teammates upon returning home. Players from our team also commented that practicing with Ibrahim was extremely meaningful and fostered mutual understanding.

【Voices from Participants and Partners】

Athlete Ibrahim: “Although I only had four opportunities to participate in the practices, I was able to learn many techniques and training methods in a short period of time.”

【Challenges and Lessons Learned】

Since the project was implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic, it was conducted under various restrictions. For infection control, the sessions were only open to a limited group of spectators as a crowdfunding reward. As our team usually attracts many general spectators, it would have been ideal if we could have held open practices or experience sessions for a wider public audience.

【URL】

https://www.instagram.com/p/Ce1DkY6poPV/?img_index=4