- World Basketball Day has been commemorated since 2023.
- This day is celebrated on December 21 because on that day, but in 1891, this sport was played for the first time at the YMCA International Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts (United States).
Since when has an international basketball day been celebrated?
World Basketball Day is one of the most recently created United Nations days, like World Codification Day declared as such by UNESCO in 2024.
In its resolution A/RES/77/324 On August 25, 2023, the UN General Assembly – one of the main organizations of the United Nations – proclaimed the twenty-first day of the last month of the year as World Basketball Day.
Therefore, the first edition of this international day dates back to 2023.
Why is World Basketball Day commemorated?
“Recognizing the global presence of basketball and its impact in and between the global spheres of trade, peace and diplomacy, and that basketball creates a unique space of cooperation and physical movement and interdependence that allows participants to see each other as human beings first and foremost.” These are some of the reasons given by the aforementioned resolution to mark this date on the calendar.
A document that also “encourages all people everywhere to connect with this sport by playing it, watching games, reading and commenting on it or otherwise, thereby making basketball a way to connect with others around the world.”
The Assembly also invites the 193 Member States that the UN currently has to participate “in the organization of mega sporting events that respect applicable international laws and principles.”
The United Nations resolution itself emphasizes that this day is celebrated the day immediately after the International Day of Human Solidarity, this day dedicated to the sport of basket also helping to “foster the spirit” of that commemorative day of December 20.
Why is World Basketball Day celebrated on December 21?
The reason why the election of the day was December 21 is that, according to collects the UN website itselfthat day, but in 1891 this sport was played for the first time at the YMCA International Training School in Springfield, a town in the US state of Massachusetts.
The origin of this sport lies in the fact that a Canadian physical education teacher, Dr. James Naismith, developed a game to keep his students active during the winter months.
What is the origin of basketball?
As Naismith stated in a 1939 radio interviewcollected by FIBA, its objective was to create a game that would end the rough entertainments in the hallways in the face of snow storms outside.
Given this, he had two weeks to think about a sport that he could practice in an indoor gym under the premise, conveyed by Luther Gulick – head of Physical Education at the center – that it would be something non-violent and fair for all the players.
Given this, Naismith placed two baskets of peaches on the walls of the gym, created two teams of nine players and, although as the inventor of the sport himself acknowledged, he did not have enough rules on the first day, he developed 13 shortly after that first experience.
Curiously, the original manuscript of those rules was sold at auction and is now at the University of Kansas, where Naismith worked for four decades.
Telefónica and basketball
Telefónica’s historic connection with the world of sports for decades does not find an exception in basketball.
For this reason, and through its Movistar brand, the operator sponsors Spanish basketball teams such as Movistar Estudiantes (since 2013, first under the name Tuenti Móvil Estudiantes, although the collaboration with the collegiate team began in the youth team in 2009, and since 2014 as Movistar), Unicaja de Málaga (since 2014) and Valencia Basket (since 2016). In the past, the company has also collaborated with Baskonia, FB Barcelona and Real Madrid.
The company’s commitment extends not only to professional men’s and women’s clubs, but also to youth academies. And likewise, support for the sport of basketball comes through audiovisual broadcasts for the general public with competitions such as the ACB, the NBA, the Euroleague or European competitions.
Frequently asked questions
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Since 2023, after being approved by the United Nations Assembly.
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Because on December 21, but in 1891, this sport was played for the first time at the YMCA International Training School in Springfield, Massachusetts, USA.
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A physical education teacher named James Naismith.
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Two baskets of peaches.
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Practice indoor physical activity to avoid the cold outside in Massachusetts (United States) in winter.
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Shortly after inventing it, James Naismith wrote 13 rules.
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Because of the global presence of basketball and its impact in and between the global spheres of trade, peace and diplomacy, and that basketball creates a unique space of cooperation and physical movement and an interdependence that allows participants to see each other as human beings first and foremost, as recognized by the UN.
