AntetokounBros Academy: The journey goes on at the urban basketball courts in Athens

100 young new athletes are being immersed in sport, both on and off the court

Yet another season continues at the AntetokounBros Academy. This time around, we’re going back to where it all began, to where Giannis Antetokounmpo started out: Sepolia in Athens.

Photo: Panos Kefalos

For its third season, the AntetokounBros Academy has been calling outdoor basketball courts in the Sepolia and Ellinorosson neighborhoods home, with Head Coach Evina Maltsi and her coaching staff welcoming 50 girls and 50 boys –as well as ten Junior Coaches– into the expansive family founded by Giannis, Thanasis, Kostas, and Alex Antetokounmpo via their Charles Antetokounmpo Family (CAF) Foundation, in partnership with Nike and the Onassis Foundation.

Photo: Panos Kefalos

Girls and boys from vulnerable social groups, with roots in countries across the globe, are joining together on the court with just one aim: to be the very best they can be. Children from different countries and cultures –everywhere from Greece and Nigeria to the Philippines and Ukraine– bearing varied creeds and personal backgrounds have been united as one by their mutual love of basketball. Sport has a singular way of bringing people together, as play brings children together, and this is why the Academy is continuing its court training sessions.

Photo: Panos Kefalos

But the work of the AntetokounBros Academy is not limited by the base and sidelines of the basketball court. Its program, which forms part of the vision set out by the CAF Foundation, also offers a series of seminars and experiential workshops led by the Onassis Foundation, theoretical game analyses by the Eurohoops coaching team, and inspirational speeches given by both distinguished professionals –drawn from various sectors– and great athletes.