3x3 EUROPE CUP 2024 IN THE SIGN OF EQUAL PLAY

The FIBA 3×3 Europe Cup 2024 at the Kaiserwiese in Vienna will be remembered for several reasons: Because the credo "all equal" manifested itself in the most inclusive sporting event of all time: In addition to the equal women's and men's tournaments, wheelchair basketball players were given the exact same stage and their own European Championship competition for the first time.

As the main sponsor of the 3×3 European Championship and founder of the Equal Play Initiative, win2day played a leading role in this inclusive mega event.

The Equal Play initiative founded by win2day not only draws attention to the imbalance between men's and women's sports, as well as para-sports, but also contributes to the professionalization of sports teams. The financial support creates better training opportunities, which automatically increases visibility at major events. The result is obvious: the temporary stadium under the Vienna Giant Ferris Wheel was usually full to bursting, the atmosphere was frenetic and television and the media were always there. Team Austria should be rewarded for this: Two European Championship titles and a quarter-final are the result of sustainable developments on a sporting and organizational level.

Visible signs

Providing a stage: This also means promoting public awareness of the problems. To mark the occasion, a charity tournament was held as part of the 3×3 European Championships for a good cause and greater visibility in women's sport. Participants in the win2day team were Clemens Doppler, Jürgen Melzer, Verena Schneider, Kathi Schützenhofer, Lena Plesiutschnig and Virginia Ernst, herself a singer, former national ice hockey player and now also an Equal Play ambassador.

The win2day team faced a selection from the Kronehit radio station, consisting of presenters Katie Weleba, Meli Tüchlier and Lukas Traxler aka Captain Luke as well as handball legend Conny Wilczynski, Sky presenter Johannes Brandl and influencer Maximlian Ratzenböck.

While Team Kronehit prevailed 5:2, the real winner was women's sport. The clear positioning of the Equal Play Initiative in the charity match, on court boards and around the stadium will bring a further boost in awareness for women's sport.

3×3 as a pioneer in equality 

In hardly any other sport is the coverage and game distribution as balanced as in the 3×3 World Cup. Although classic women's basketball (5 vs. 5) is still massively underrepresented, the 3×3 basketball tournament manages to create a balanced picture balanced picture. The event's schedule is structured in such a way that the women's and men's teams each alternate play two games each, making it a classically gender-segregated event.