About bball in the sky
From childhood
Genesis
Bball in the sky was founded in 2017 by Mehdi Ould Kherroubi Hacine-Bey, PhD (linkedin profile). Born in 1981 and raised in Brussels, Belgium, with Algerian and Turkish heritage, he started playing basketball in 1991 with his friends, Steve and Luckas, on outdoor courts in Laeken, a northern district of Brussels.
After a few years, he moved beyond his neighborhood to compete against the best streetball players in Brussels. At 13, he joined the Brussels basketball club (then called Excelsior).
Sauvagere park
The hope
In 2017, the basketball court in Sauvagère Park, Uccle (Brussels, Belgium), where Mehdi used to play with his friends, was replaced by local authorities with a multi-sport court (usually named "agora space" or "mini-pitch". Built in 1970, this court was one of the oldest and most popular in Brussels. Despite its legacy and community mobilization, the authorities refused to restore it.
During two years of peaceful advocacy, Mehdi decided to combine his theoretical expertise with his passion for basketball by launching his own project, “bball in the sky.”
20k
People attending to our events
2.8k
Square meters recovered
7+
Amazing courts realized
Key Metrics of
bball in the sky
The numbers behind our success:
an in-depth look at the key metrics driving our organization's achievements.