Bball in the sky genesis and inspiration

Bball in the sky was founded in 2017 by Mehdi Ould Kherroubi Hacine-Bey, PhD (linkedIn profil). He’s born in 1981 and raised in Brussels (Belgium) with an Algerian and Turkish background. He started to play basketball in 1991 on outdoor basketball courts in Laeken, one of North districts in Brussels. After few years, he moved from his neighborhood to play in various streetball spots located all around the city. When he was 13 yo, he signed in Brussels basketball club (called at the time Excelsior).

He reached his highest level in this sport when he was 18 yo. He was a prospect for two training centers of top D1 league in Belgium (BC Oostende and Spirou Charleroi) and one college in USA (Dallas College).

After one year as a semi-professional player in Spirou Charleroi (Gilly), he decided to be focused on his studies. He get a master in political sciences, international relations (ULB, Brussels) and a phd in business management (Huddersfield business school, UK). He worked notably in the media industry and in the academic sector for years.

In 2017, the playground where he used to play with his friends, were replaced by local representatives with a multi-sport court. This basketball court located in the Sauvagère parc in Uccle (Brussels, Belgium) was built around 1970. It was one of the oldest and most popular courts in Brussels. Despite its legacy and the mobilization, the public authorities refused to restore it.

📍Sauvagère park. 83 Chênaie avenue. 1180 Brussels

Balai Uccle team (1975-1976 season). 📍Sauvagère park. Pic by @Thierry Descouvemont

The new horrible infrastructure during its setup 📍Sauvagère park. Pic by @mehdibballinthesky (2017)

For more information about the struggle to restore our historical basketball located in Sauvagère parc in Uccle (Brussels, Belgium), feel free to join us on our social media: check the online petition / Facebook group / Instragram / Youtube.

During 2 years of peaceful fights, Mehdi had the willing to combine his theoretical knowledge with his sport passion by creating his own project named “bball in the sky”.

Mehdi observed that most of the outdoor basket courts in Belgium were damaged and/or replaced by ugly multi-sport courts while they are essential in terms of notably sport access and the beauty of the city. Besides, he noticed the work of basketball players around the world to refresh it. Project backboard , trajectoire studio, Veniceball and Pigalle Duperré playground  were major influences on his thinking and creation process.

📍Pigalle Duperré basketball court (Paris, France). For more information about it, here's the link

In order to distinguish himself, he wished to implement basketball courts on rooftops with artworks and designed furnitures. His main objective is to attempt and make people dream through sport, art and design. He’s convinced that magnificent sport infrastructures located in an elaborated urbanism dynamic contribute to create, to maintain or to improve the peacefulness and homogeneity into diverse communities.

To highlight the refreshment or the implementation of the new sport court, the bball in the sky work process consists to organise basketball tournaments called « the league ». This sport activity is also influenced by contemporary exemples such as the quai 54 (France), the drew league (USA) and the "beautiful village" (美丽乡村) basketball league (China).

Thank you for your attention.

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Have a nice day,

Mehdi