TİKA Supports the Wheelchair Basketball Association of Serbia

Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TİKA) renovated the office of the Wheelchair Basketball Association of Serbia (SKKS) and provided wheelchairs to players.

Founded in 2004 by the merger of 7 clubs, the Wheelchair Basketball Association of Serbia is the only institution with the authority to organize and regulate wheelchair basketball in the Republic of Serbia.

As part of the project it developed to contribute to the integration of young people with disabilities into the society as healthy and happy individuals through sports, TİKA provided 5 wheelchairs to the Wheelchair Basketball Association of Serbia after renovating and equipping the office used by the association.

The opening ceremony held for the office was attended by Uros Pribicevic, Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports of Serbia; Juliana Stanisavljevic, Deputy Minister of Labor, Employment, Veteran and Social Policy of Serbia; Bojan Jacimovic, President of the Paralympic Committee of Serbia; Hami Aksoy, the Republic of Turkey’s Ambassador to Belgrade; Vladimir Kuzmanovic, President of the Wheelchair Basketball Association of Serbia; and Çağla Gültekin Tosbat, TİKA’s Belgrade Coordinator.

In his speech at the ceremony, Ambassador Hami Aksoy pointed out that the political relations between Serbia and Turkey were excellent, and said, “We want to improve our relations in the fields of culture and sports. Today, we are witnessing one of the best examples of these efforts.” Stressing that Serbia is successful in sports, Aksoy said that they would continue to work on improving the relations.

Vladimir Kuzmanovic, President of SKKS, stated that their national team would play in the European Championship the next day, and said, “We would like to thank TİKA for its support. It means a lot to us.”

Explaining that the wheelchairs donated were easy to use, Kuzmanovic noted that they were excited that they would play the next day’s championship game with their new wheelchairs.

It is also aimed to organize a “July 15 Friendly Game” between the women’s national wheelchair basketball teams of Turkey and Serbia in Belgrade within the scope of the cooperation with the association.