More than two hundred children will take part in the Sporting Nation Basketball Cup on Saturday, which is being realized in Sopron in cooperation with the State Secretariat for Sports of the Ministry of National Defense, the National Sports Agency and the National Association of Hungarian Basketball Players.
Photo: Zsombor Tóth / Source: MTI
Ádám Schmidt, the Secretary of State responsible for sports at the Ministry of National Defense, called it important to have a base for the youth team on the day of the women’s basketball qualifying tournament in Sopron.
After the morning competitions of the day-long program series, the state secretary said that, in addition to organizing the Olympic qualifiers, it was also a priority to simultaneously provide local and neighborhood children with such community sports experiences that would help them to develop a love of everyday sports.
More than two hundred children will take part in the cup organized as part of the Sports Nation Program, he added. He said that Sopron is a special place in the history of Hungarian basketball, and with the program they want to draw attention to community sports in addition to competitive sports.
The state secretary also spoke about the “fantastic” success of the Hungarian women’s basketball team on Friday. He added:
I want as many Hungarian venues as possible to host similar sports events, because Friday also proved that the domestic environment can also help to achieve success.
At the event, Zsófia Dénesné Fegyverneky, former national team basketball player, Sopron Basket player, called it important that children learn at an early age that sport can become a part of their lives.
The Sportoló Nemzet Basketball Cup is organized in two age groups. Those born in 2014 and 2015 played in the morning, and those born in 2012 and 2013 in the afternoon. The medals of the morning matches and the gift packages were distributed by Ádám Schmidt and Zsófia Dénesné Fegyverneky, who also played basketball with the children beforehand.
The cups will be presented to the winners of the age groups on Sunday, on the final day of the Olympic qualification tournament, before the Hungary-Spain match at the Novomatic Arena.