The need to organize the Sagesse Foundation came about as the result of two powerful motivating forces, love and what we, the SF Team, believe is necessity. The "love" part of the equation is obvious, as Sagesse is the most well known and most loved basketball club in the entire Arab region and maybe all of Asia. Our Sagesse fans are well known all over the world and have been an integral part of making basketball something all Lebanese can be proud of on the world stage.

The "necessity" part of the equation has come about recently but the issues that brought this need to organize and mobilize the average ordinary Sagesse fan have been around since its very formation.

Since it's inception, the financial well being of Sagesse basketball has always been dependent on one very wealthy individual. Fortunately even after Mr. Antoine Choueiry (the "father" of Sagesse), other strong wealthy men stepped up to take on the financial responsibilities of the club.

First was Mr. Henry Chalhoub and most recently Mr. George Chehwan. We owe all three of these men a debt of gratitude for their efforts and their generosity in the name of Sagesse and basketball, however this past offseason, our worst nightmare finally came true. Sagesse basketball was left without a wealthy patriarch and without a budget for all intents and purposes. Sagesse, Lebanon's most storied and internationally successful club, faced the real possibility of vanishing from existence. In the club's darkest hour, a small group of players committed to stay and play for Sagesse, thus forming the nucleus of our 2009-2010 team, and ensured that Sagesse fans around the world will have a team fighting and playing with all their hearts for them.

But, still, there are 2 questions that cannot be avoided or ignored and must be answered if Sagesse is to regain stability and success.

  1. How did Sagesse ever find itself on the brink of extinction?
  2. What can be done to make sure this never ever happens again?

The answer to the first is described above by the dependance on 1 or a few wealthy and benevolent individuals for all of our funding.

The answer to the second question can be found from within every person who has Sagesse in their hearts and we hope that it will be realized by the Sagesse Foundation. WE (the ordinary, passionate, loyal fan) ARE SAGESSE.

By joining and supporting the Sagesse Foundation you can help ensure the stability of Sagesse in three ways:

  1. Donating time volunteering for Sagesse Foundation events and activities.
  2. Donating services and supplies to help the club's efforts.
  3. Donating money that will go towards the Basketball current and future budgets as well as future initiatives to benefit the club (a big dream and goal is to one day have our very own state of the art Sagesse Court).

With that being said, we look forward towards a two-way real partnership between Sagesse club and its fan-base for the first time in Sagesse's history.

Sincerely,
The SF Team