Trakia Journal of Sciences, Vol. 18, Suppl. 1, 2020 891 Trakia Journal of Sciences, Vol. 18, Suppl. 1, pp 891-896, 2020 Copyright © 2020 Trakia University Available online at: http://www.uni-sz.bg ISSN 1313-3551 (online) doi:10.15547/tjs.2020.s.01.146 BUILDING SOCIAL CAPITAL THROUGH INCLUSIVE BASKETBALL S. Djobova*, M. Borukova, I. Kirilova National Sports Academy “Vassil Levski”, Sofia, Bulgaria ABSTRACT The inclusive basketball program of the National Sports Academy is a compilation of adapted and unified basketball where persons with intellectual and physical disabilities together with students and volunteers are training and competing together. PURPOSE of this study is to explore the extent of contribution of our program for the building of social capital. The concept of social capital is drawn from psychology, sociology and economy. It is defined as controversial due to many theories and cultural diversity behind. METHODS: Participants in the study were all persons involved in the adapted basketball program. Data was collected using interviews, life-story techniques, field notes and tests batteries for basketball skills. RESULTS are showing improvement in personal development domain for the athletes with disabilities where sport specific skills, building trust and communications were the leading components. For the students in the same domain the leading components of improvement were attitudes and relationships. Positive change was found in the domains of social inclusion, micro-culture and participation. We also found that there is direct and indirect production of social capital. CONCLUSION: inclusive sport practice like our adapted basketball program could be considered as a powerful contributor to the building of social capital. Key words: inclusion, unified sport, socialization, skills, Special Olympics INTRODUCTION Sport has the universal power to unite people, to overcome political, cultural, and social barriers, and to develop a human personality. Participation to sport is a basic human right but still many persons with disabilities limited or no access to sport. Some existing opportunities are segregated and exclusive. Inclusive sports are practices that encompass diverse physical activities and sports training where persons with and without disabilities are enjoying sport under the environment of equity. Sport opportunities for persons with disabilities can differ along a number of structural aspects including the amount of segregation or integration of disabled and able-bodied athletes or of athletes with different types or degrees of disability within a mainstream sport, degree of ________________________ *Correspondence to: Stefka Djobova, National Sports Academy “Vassil Levski”, Faculty of Public health, health care and tourism, Water sports department, sector Adapted physical activity and sport; Faculty of Pedagogy, Basketball, volleyball, handball department, sector Basketball, 1700, Sofia, Studentski grad, Email: Stefka.djobova@abv.bg, Mobile: +359 893 396 331 adaptation, classifications, level of competitive intensity and inclusiveness of eligibility. Two prominent examples of disability sport are the Special Olympics and the Paralympics. The scientific research of social and cultural aspects of disability sport is relatively new. The first attempt to collect academic work in this area was done by Claudine Sherrill as editor in the distant 1986 in a book named Social and psychological dimensions of sport for disabled athletes (1). The first comprehensive book about sport for persons with disabilities - “Disability and Sport”, was published in 1995 by DePauw and Gavron (2). The two leading journals publishing studies of disability sport are the Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly and European Journal in Adapted Physical Activity. Ian Brittain has researched social aspects of disability sport also. According to Bailey (3),+ participation in sport supports the development of social capital by emphasizing on social activity, like an opportunity to make friendships, establishing networks and decrease social segregation. The position of Chandler et al. is