Strengthening Basketball Leben’s impact on young people in Romanian village of Bögöz
As the 2025 Gumball 3000 rally weaved its way from Istanbul to Ibiza this year, it stopped in Romania and met young people from a local programme called Basketball Leben.
The programme uses basketball among other activities like arts, culture and education to help young people develop social, personal and professional skills. It focuses on Bögöz and its surrounding villages, where a generation of children and young people face an economically precarious situation. Here, the children face a prolonged absence of parents working abroad, therefore sacrificing family unity for economic survival. This reality forces children to shoulder responsibilities far beyond their years.
Fourteen-year-old Márk is one of these children. As the eldest of three, he understands the sacrifices his parents make. While his father works tirelessly abroad, Márk, along with his two younger sisters, strive to maintain a sense of family and stability.
His mother poignantly describes the impact of Basketball Leben.
"The basketball project is an enormous help for us. Without this opportunity, my children could not play sports,” she said. “My husband works abroad, so I am home alone with the three children about half the year."
Fourteen-year-old Márk is one of these children. As the eldest of three, he understands the sacrifices his parents make. While his father works tirelessly abroad, Márk, along with his two younger sisters, strive to maintain a sense of family and stability.
His mother poignantly describes the impact of Basketball Leben.
"The basketball project is an enormous help for us. Without this opportunity, my children could not play sports,” she said. “My husband works abroad, so I am home alone with the three children about half the year."
Basketball Leben offers more than just physical activity. It provides joy, community and a vital boost to their self-confidence.
"I can see how much they love the training," Márk's mother shared. “The basketball court is a sanctuary, a place where they can momentarily escape the pressures of their daily lives and simply be children.”
The impact extends beyond the court. The structured training, the camaraderie built, and the sense of accomplishment foster personal development.
Márk's mother emphasised, "It is wonderful to see how happy they are, how much they look forward to each session, and how much they grow, not only in sport but also personally."
The project has even opened doors to extraordinary experiences. For Márk, it was an opportunity to attend sports camps in Germany, and afterwards he was selected to train with a competitive basketball club in Udvarhely, a team participating in the Romania national league.
"He got to sit in an airplane for the first time," his mother recounted about her son’s opportunity in Germany. "I could never have given him that opportunity myself."
Since teaming up with Laureus Sport for Good in 2019, the Gumball 3000 Foundation has donated over EUR 500,000 to support Laureus Sport for Good’s work across the globe. Basketball Leben was this year's grant recipient, with previous editions supporting other Laureus Sport for Good programmes such as ISF Cambodia and Panna Knock Out.
"I can see how much they love the training," Márk's mother shared. “The basketball court is a sanctuary, a place where they can momentarily escape the pressures of their daily lives and simply be children.”
The impact extends beyond the court. The structured training, the camaraderie built, and the sense of accomplishment foster personal development.
Márk's mother emphasised, "It is wonderful to see how happy they are, how much they look forward to each session, and how much they grow, not only in sport but also personally."
The project has even opened doors to extraordinary experiences. For Márk, it was an opportunity to attend sports camps in Germany, and afterwards he was selected to train with a competitive basketball club in Udvarhely, a team participating in the Romania national league.
"He got to sit in an airplane for the first time," his mother recounted about her son’s opportunity in Germany. "I could never have given him that opportunity myself."
Since teaming up with Laureus Sport for Good in 2019, the Gumball 3000 Foundation has donated over EUR 500,000 to support Laureus Sport for Good’s work across the globe. Basketball Leben was this year's grant recipient, with previous editions supporting other Laureus Sport for Good programmes such as ISF Cambodia and Panna Knock Out.
