Basketball

History of Basketball

Basketball has been part of the Olympic programme since 1936. Men’s World Championships have been held regularly since 1950, women’s since 1953, and European Championships since 1935.

The first international match was played in 1904, and basketball entered the Summer Olympic programme in 1936.

Basketball in Kazakhstan

The earliest references to basketball in the Kazakh SSR date to 1925, when provincial championships were held. However, 1926 is regarded as the sport’s official starting point in Kazakhstan: that summer, basketball was included in the First Republican Trade Union Physical Culture Festival in Semipalatinsk. The sport developed particularly rapidly from the first half of the 1940s. Kazakhstan’s teams regularly competed in USSR championships from 1940 for men and 1946 for women.