First Nations Telegraph

FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup When the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2022 arrives on Wangal Country this September, the Local Organising Committee and FIBA will have been on a two-year journey to bring an authentic Australian tone to the event.  

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Under the guidance of Indigenous creative agency Campfire x, the Women’s Basketball World Cup aims to deliver a new standard of cultural engagement across all facets of the event and leave a lasting legacy for basketball and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. 

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The program was launched on Gadigal Country by WNBL Canberra Capitals player and former Australian Gems representative, Abby Cubillo and recent Sydney Kings NBL 2022 Champion Bawali Bayles, at a pick-up game with Sydney's 'All Blacks' basketball team at Alexandria Basketball Stadium. 

The engagement strategy, which was established at its core with the creation of the event logo, includes the following initiatives:

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Event logo 
The World Cup’s initial step of engagement saw 14-year-old Aboriginal basketballer Armalie ‘Marlii’ Briscoe inspire the event’s unique and meaningful logo by creating a stunning piece of artwork to symbolise her story. Briscoe’s artwork represents everything she loves in her life, including her biggest loves – ‘art’, ‘basketball’, ‘culture’ and ‘country’ – and is at the heart of the event’s identity. 

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Indigenous merchandise line 
In an extension to her logo inspiration, Briscoe also created a series of artwork pieces to inspire an Indigenous merchandise line for the Women’s World Cup 2022: produced by iAthletic, the event licensing agent. The line's royalties will support Indigenous Women and Girls initiatives being delivered by Basketball Australia and its partners. 

Professional development 
In a joint arrangement with Campfire x, the Local Organising Committee has welcomed Tuneah Plumb, a proud Wiradjuri Woman from Tumut, as the event’s Indigenous Engagement Officer in an opportunity that will see the 23-year-old gain invaluable experience and exposure at a world-class, international event. 

Community engagement  

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The FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup 2022’s Indigenous program will continue rolling out initiatives that embrace Australian First Nations communities, including producing a Hero Film, storytelling of the history of Wangal land, where the World Cup will be held, social media activations, and more. 
 

Event-time integration 
A multi-level engagement approach, both on and off the court, will be adopted when the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup is played at Sydney Olympic Park on Wangal Country between Thursday, 22 September and Saturday, 1 October. International teams will be treated to a traditional Welcome to Country during a welcome dinner, ahead of a more public Welcome as part of the Opening Ceremony and before each individual game. Spectators will also be able to engage in the program via the event’s branding and wayfinding, and the fan zone which will operate outside Sydney Superdome for the duration of the World Cup.   

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Legacy 
As part of its investment into the World Cup, the NSW and Australian Governments are funding state and national legacy programs, which include education, participation and leadership programs for Indigenous and multicultural women and girls.
 

Tuneah Plumb from Campfire x said “As a proud Wiradjuri Woman, it is an incredible experience to be driving Indigenous engagement for the Women’s World Cup. In the past few months, I’ve been inspired by our past Indigenous Opals, Rohanee Cox and Leilani Mitchell, and the way they have led in this space.

 

“Our goal is to increase the number of Indigenous girls playing basketball. Young women will lead via creative ways on social media platforms.

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“Additionally, it’s also an absolute pleasure to have one of our up-and-coming stars Abby Cubillo attend the launch, and hopefully we see her representing Australia as an Opal in the future.”

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FIBA Women's Basketball World Cup 2022 Playmaker Abby Cubillo added “I’m really excited to be a part of the Indigenous Engagement Launch. Hopefully, by launching this now, a few years down the track we will see more Indigenous females representing the Opals on the world stage!”  

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