The Cleveland Project brings subsidized basketball opportunities to students from Primary 5 through Secondary Year 10. The school year is divided into three separate 8-week coaching terms, each of which concludes with a program-wide blitz tournament in Lisburn.
Last year, 20 schools from across Northern Ireland took part in Cleveland Project-sponsored programs, offering nearly 4,000 students the chance to learn and play basketball. Feedback from participants, schools and parents has been so overwhelmingly positive, we are expanding the program to bring basketball to even more schools in the upcoming season.
Inspired by the opportunity to play basketball for Lakewood High School in America as part of the original Irish American Sports Foundation initiative, Shane Donnelly founded the Cleveland Northern Ireland International Basketball Academy in September 2021 to reestablish those same opportunities for today's students.
By accelerating youth basketball in Northern Ireland as a cross-community sport and providing sustained financial support, The Cleveland Project advances the promotion, organization and supervision of athletic competition through expert education, mentorship, instruction and coaching of youths.