Social Responsibility – Project One Team

Projekt One Team is a socially responsible initiative of the strongest European basketball competition, the EuroLeague, supported by the main sponsor of the elite basketball tournament, Turkish Airlines, along with the nonprofit organization Special Olympics, which is also the main partner of the project. The goal of the project is to drive change in local communities through basketball.

Throughout the seasons, the EuroLeague, with the help of clubs from across Europe, has developed a comprehensive social responsibility program that, through individual club activities, operates under the core theme of community integration.

The main message of the project is to use the power of basketball to connect communities.

Each participating club develops its own One Team project each season, reflecting the situation and needs of the local community by helping those social groups at risk of exclusion due to pressing issues such as substance abuse or physical or mental disabilities.

Since its inception in 2012, the project has directly or indirectly reached more than 25,000 participants across Europe.

In the 2023/24 season, Cedevita Olimpija is participating in the One Team project in collaboration with the Malči Beličeve Youth Home.

“The project perfectly complements our daily work, as through play and movement we address important social-pedagogical topics and develop social skills. The children enjoy playing basketball and participating in various tasks, which also help them develop motor skills. The children are very excited about the activities, as it offers them an opportunity they would not otherwise experience. I’m talking about watching games, meeting basketball players, and visiting arenas. These are special opportunities for them,” said Dejan, an educator at the Malči Beličeve Youth Home, sharing his thoughts on the project.

The ambassador for the One Team project at Cedevita Olimpija in the 2023/24 season was Edo Murić.

For its work in the One Team project, Cedevita Olimpija also received a gold award from Euroleague Basketball at the end of the 2023/24 season.

Together with the Malči Beličeve Youth Home, Cedevita Olimpija helped young people with learning difficulties who were at risk, improving their social skills through basketball. The participating children, aged between seven and thirteen, also received small gifts from the sponsors and partners of the Ljubljana club, NLB d.d., and IKEA.

It is worth mentioning that in the 2023/24 season, Cedevita Olimpija, together with Umana Reyer, organized a trip to Venice, where participants watched a EuroCup game between the two teams. They also had the opportunity to participate in a joint basketball practice and take a tour of the city. Another trip was organized to Zagreb, where participants enjoyed watching a regional league game against Cibona, toured the Zagreb club’s facilities, and spent part of the day at Cedevita’s Basketball House. Cedevita Olimpija also ensured strong media coverage of the program.

“We are happy to have won the award; we are very honored. I think we put a lot of effort in this year, and we are very grateful that our work has been recognized,” said Matic Lisac, the head of the One Team program at Cedevita Olimpija. “We will continue with the good work and hope to impact even more lives than in previous seasons.”

Teams from Asvel and Milan took second and third place, respectively.