The FIBA Sport Innovation Challenge 2025 came to a close this week, marking the end of a two-month journey that brought students, industry experts and leading institutions together to explore some of the sport’s most pressing challenges.
The initiative, delivered in partnership with FIBA, once again underscored the value of exposing young talent to real case studies drawn directly from the field. By opening up current issues around health data, women’s sport development, and fan engagement, FIBA enabled participants to work with authentic material — a catalyst for meaningful learning and high-impact solutions.
“The openness of FIBA’s teams created an environment where ideas could truly move from theory to practice,” noted ThinkSport General Director Claudine Breton. “This is exactly the type of collaboration that strengthens the innovation landscape in sport.”
Over the course of the challenge, students analysed their assigned challenges, tested assumptions, and shaped them into forward-looking concepts. The final pitches reflected a consistent theme: innovation is not just enhancing basketball — it is redefining how sport can grow sustainably, inclusively and intelligently.
Announcing the 2025 Winners
This year’s jury selected two winning projects, each offering a fresh lens on long-term opportunities for basketball:
🥇 AISTS – International Academy of Sport Science and Technology
Unlocking Health Data & Medical Device Opportunities for Basketball
A proposal exploring how medical technology and athlete data could unlock new value across performance, safety and fan understanding.
🥇 University of Lausanne (UNIL)
Fuelling the Flame of Growth in Women’s Basketball
A strategic roadmap pinpointing the levers needed to amplify visibility, participation and commercial momentum in the women’s game.
A Jury of Industry Leaders
The 2025 winners were selected by an expert jury representing global sport, academia and technology:
- Nathalie Taylor, Head of Marketing Services, FIBA Marketing
- Frédérique Martin-Basté, Head of Partnership Management, FIBA Marketing
- Claudine Breton, General Director, ThinkSport
- Cyril Bouquet, Professor of Strategy and Innovation, IMD
- Bart Prinssen, Head of Equipment & Venue Centre, FIBA
- Wan-Ching Cho, Partnerships and Operations, FIBA
- Benoît Hanzen, Industry Manager Sports, Google
A notable addition to this year’s jury was Koi Love, professional player for Fribourg Elfic and the Challenge’s Godmother. An American pro and former USC standout, she brought valuable on-court experience and a high-performance athlete mindset to the Gen-Next Challenge 2025 final — further strengthening the Challenge’s direct connection to the athlete community.
Their perspectives reflected an increasingly interconnected sports innovation landscape — where performance, technology, data and community engagement intersect.
A Global Academic Field
Six academic institutions took part in this year’s challenge:
- University of Lausanne
- AISTS
- HES-SO Valais-Wallis
- Sport Management School Lausanne
- Fernfachhochschule Schweiz
- Strathmore University, Nairobi, Kenya
Despite their diverse backgrounds, teams shared a common thread: the ambition to push sport forward with ideas grounded in evidence and shaped for real-world application.
The 2025 edition of the FIBA Sport Innovation Challenge closed on a high note, with concepts that point not only to basketball’s next opportunities but also to the evolving mindset of the next generation of sport innovators.
Where these ideas go next will be a story to watch.