Back2Basics Global Sports Series to unlock international talent from March 2026

By Back2Basics

Sport is about Cinderella stories, underdogs and the raw emotion of achieving the impossible.

Sport is about rising from the streets where dreams begin to gracing the grandest cathedrals where heroes are worshipped.

The Back2Basics Global Sports Series is giving those with unrealised potential the opportunity to recapture the essence of sport by focusing on the birthplace of all champions - the community.

Open to all amateur soccer, rugby, cricket and netball players, the Back2Basics Global Sports Series will revive community participation, unlock career pathways and turn sports facility back into the heartbeat of communities.

From March 2026, athletes and aspiring referees and administrators from South Africa, England, Paris, Amsterdam and Brussels will gather in their communities to compete for their place at the Back2Basics Global Sports Series Grand Final in Johannesburg in June 2026.

The competition is the brainchild of the established sports investor Steven Botha, a man passionate about using sport as a driver of change.

"After years of research and physical venue evaluations - both locally and abroad - I envisioned Back2Basics as a platform that truly supports community sports participants.

“I asked myself: How can we provide everyday athletes the opportunity to compete on an international platform? The Back2Basics Global Sport Series is the answer. Sport remains one of the few things that genuinely unites communities across the world,” said Botha.

Around the world, local sports facilities are closing at an alarming rate, outnumbering the rate at which new ones are opening.

Additionally, youth participation in sport has dropped by 18% globally, a number that continues to grow.

Back2Basics aims to reverse this trend by increasing local membership and usage of community sports facilities, creating new opportunities for amateur athletes to compete on an international stage and strengthening communities through sport, accessibility, and global connection.

The Back2Basics Global Sports Series recognises that world class talent can often fall through the cracks at junior level. For a variety of socio-economic or domestic reasons, some athletes may only flourish in early adulthood, and the Back2Basics Global Sports Series will provide an annual platform of unbiased, independent self-discovery for athletes, referees, administrators and other sporting staff roles.

The Back2Basics Global Sports Series will lay the foundation of organic talent discovery at community level, ensuring that those who wish to forge a career in sport are not sidelined due to a lack of access to elite opportunities at youth level.

Tournaments will be held in 10 participating cities, with the winning teams from each of the six sporting codes travelling to Johannesburg for the Grand Finals.

Annual expansion will see the Back2Basics Global Sports Series grow to 32 cities by 2027 including 640 schools and provincial, state and county qualifiers by 2028 and beyond.

This multi-year expansion will cement Back2Basics as one of the fastest-growing amateur global sports platforms in the world.

Registration is now open and Back2Basics encourages teams to register as soon as possible at www.basicsglobal.org as some cities have limited slots available.