European Union assistance sees TIME-OUT project become a reality

MUNICH, Germany - With financial support provided by the European Union (EU), FIBA Europe and Northumbria University Business School will embark on the project, TIME-OUT, aimed at preparing basketball players for careers following their playing days.

The EU announced their required assistance to TIME-OUT this week, with funding coming from their Erasmus+ Sport Progamme.

TIME-OUT - "Empowerment of basketball players through a sustainable dual career and a good governance training supporting programme" will commence in January 2017.

Every European Member Federation of FIBA will be invited to nominate one male and one female recently retired athlete to participate in the project.

It will consist of online and on-site learning, developing participants in the fields of leadership and management, basketball-specific management and learning to adapt to life following sport.

Upon completing the course, successful participants will receive a Leadership and Management diploma from the University of Northumbria, a Basketball Management Qualification from FIBA and a Talented Athlete Lifestyle Support certificate from the Talented Athletes Scholarship Scheme (TASS).

Both TASS and the University of Northumbria are based in Newcastle, England.

"This is an extremely exciting project to be involved in," commented FIBA Executive Director - Europe, Kamil Novak. "Planning a career, post-professional sport, is a major issue across all sports, and it is important that with this project we, along with the European Union, are acknowledging the issue and taking one of the necessary steps to address it."

FIBA is positive that this programme will represent a big contribution to the integration of basketball players into the sport labour market, and indirectly strengthen the basketball structures in Europe.

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About FIBA
FIBA (fiba.com) - the world governing body for basketball - is an independent association formed by 215 National Basketball Federations throughout the world. It is recognised as the sole competent authority in basketball by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

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