Porto-Novo hosted the 2025 FIBA Africa Mini-Basketball Forum, uniting 400 children and 13 coaches from across Africa. With laughter, teamwork, and learning at its heart, the event highlighted Mini Basketball’s power to inspire dreams and build futures.
Last Updated on
May 20, 2025
The courts were modest, and the balls were smaller than the regulations, but in Porto-Novo, something big happened.
From April 24 to 27, Benin’s coastal capital transformed into a continental classroom as it hosted the 2025 FIBA Africa Mini-Basketball Forum—a four-day gathering that brought together nearly 400 children and 13 coaches from across Africa to celebrate the fast-growing grassroots movement on the continent.
Mini Basketball, designed for children aged six to 12, has quietly become one of Africa’s most dynamic tools for youth development. It’s not just about layups and dribbling drills; it’s about community, joy, and building the future of basketball by starting small and dreaming big.
“Children don’t need pressure to perform,” said Guillermo Clavo, aveteran FIBA instructor from Spain. “They need an environment where they canplay, smile, and learn. That’s what Mini Basketball offers.”
Clavo and fellow instructor Alkaya Touré of Mali led daily training sessions alternating between classroom instruction and hands-on coaching with the children.
The coaches in attendance — drawn from 13 different African countries—weren’t just there to observe. They were immersed in a full curriculum aimed at helping them adapt the Mini Basketball model to local contexts.
“Their job now,” Clavo emphasized, “is to recreate this forum back home.That’s where this really takes root.”
Now in its sixth edition, the forum is part of a broader development push from the FIBA Regional Office in Africa, which sees Mini Basketball as more than a game — an entry point. With the proper guidance, it becomes a vehicle for health, inclusion, gender equity, and long-term engagement with sport.
FIBA’s strategy appears to be working. Since the first edition, interest in Mini Basketball has exploded across the continent. Jean-Michel Ramaroson, a FIBA Central Board Member, noted the forum’s steady growth.
“Six editions in and we see its popularity expanding. We can now say ithas quite a reputation in Africa.”
That ambition was reflected on the ground in Porto-Novo. Children traveled from across Benin to participate—some from cities, others from remote regions.
“You could see the smiles and the excitement on their faces,” said Clavo.
The atmosphere was electric: small-sided games, laughter between drills, spontaneous dance circles during water breaks. Every child left with more than skills—they went with memories. Coaches, too, came away transformed. Tionge Tracy Kambalame, a delegate from Malawi, praised the environment for its spirit of shared learning:
“The children learned so quickly. Everyone had something to contribute.This was not just a camp — it was a chance for all of us to grow. I’m incredibly grateful to FIBA and Malawi Basketball for making this possible.”
To ensure the forum's momentum continues, FIBA donated equipment to the Beninese Basketball Federation, supporting efforts to build sustainable programs at home. The hope is that these materials — balls, backboards and scoreboards — will find their way to different regions where the seeds planted during the forum can continue to grow.
Looking ahead, more forums are planned in other regions of Africa. The goal? To create a ripple effect that stretches across the continent.
The real triumph of the Porto-Novo forum wasn't in any one game or training session. It was in the shared belief that every child deserves the chance to play, learn, and dream.
[Photography Courtesy of FIBA Africa]
