Spotlight: TIBU Maroc

Like most of the world the most popular sport in Morocco is soccer, but basketball is gaining popularity and doing so, fast. Even with the limited resources people are out, sometimes without much more than a rim and a flat ball, playing. The sport is especially popular among youth and girls. While the larger towns like Essaouira may have professional teams in the Moroccan league, most smaller towns or communes have at least an attempt at an outdoor court but are really just a half court and a dangling rim, but still, people are playing. In Essaouira, basketball is arguably more popular than soccer. We were lucky to jump right in with basketball within our first week in site, but our basketball involvement has been expanded to the national level and we couldn’t be happier.

TIBU Maroc, a Moroccan run NGO, was founded in 2010 by motivated young basketball players and coaches. TIBU stands for Teamwork, Integrity, Binding, Uprightness. Their mission goes beyond playing the game of basketball, but emphasizing and developing core values that can be used on and off the cout. In less than four years they have implemented reoccuring National School Tour, TIBU Basketball Camp, TIBU Basketball Challenge, Ramadan Basketball Night, TIBU Basketball Academy, and 3×3 Tournaments. Players and coaches from the NBA, WNBA and FIBA have collaborated with TIBU as well as the US Embassy of Morocco.

After hearing about TIBU from a former PCV and our regional manager, we were eager to begin working with them. Mohamid Amine, the president of the organization welcomed Kabir and me to the TIBU community and we are lucky to be apart of it.  We spent the last week in Casablanca coaching and teaching at the third annual training for the TIBU Basketball Academy. Their academy is based in Casablanca where kids from 6-18 practice basketball, learn English, and develop leadership and project creation through different sessions. The Moroccan coaches were an absolute pleasure to work with and the energy of the coaches, players and parents was contagious. We didn’t want the week to end. The camp days were split between basketball drills and skills, English classes and team building sessions. During our off time, we explored and ate our way through Casablanca with Amine and the other TIBU staff. We were treated like celebrities!

Here are photos from the week:

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TIBU Basketball Academy was featured on Morocco’s national TV station, 2M. Apparently the broadcaster says we are from the NBA and WNBA–not the worst thing to get lost in translation. Oh, and my last name is still DiNucci, but perhaps Moss sounded more French?

I will return to Casablanca in August for TIBU’s two week basketball camp with players from all over Morocco and coaches from Europe, Middle East and the US. Kabir and I will continue to work with TIBU on future projects including their National School Tour in March–a month long basketball caravan in over 24 cities. A huge thanks to the TIBU community for being so welcoming, we look forward to the next two years together!

-O