The tournament “Umit Kubogy – Cup of Hope” is part of a large-scale social project “People’s League”, which is financed by the Halyk Charity Foundation and JSC “Halyk Bank of Kazakhstan”.

During the year, children from 17 orphanages from 15 cities and towns of the republic train in basketball sections under the guidance of professional coaches. The championship is held on an annual basis.

In 2019, more than 170 teenagers took part in the championship, many of whom were finishing their stay in an orphanage and starting an independent life.

As a motivational training, the Halyk Charity Foundation organized a meeting with the legendary marathon runner, conqueror of all the deserts of the world, Guinness World Record holder, and entrepreneur Marat Zhylyanbayev, who himself grew up in an orphanage and overcame all the challenges of personal development. The Halyk Charity Foundation allocated over 33 million tenge for the championship.

The 2018 championship, which was held at the Dostyk sports complex in Almaty, was attended by 216 children in 18 teams from 18 regions of the country.

In 2018, the panel of judges, as per tradition, was represented by international-category referees from the National Basketball Federation. The honorary guests of the championship were basketball veterans Alzhan Zharmukhamedov and Ivan Edeshko – Olympic champions and participants of the legendary 1972 match between the USSR and the USA in Munich. They conducted a master class for the championship participants and the students of the Almaty Basketball Academy.

As a motivational event, a meeting of children with the heroes of the film “Moving Up” was also organized. The Halyk Foundation allocated more than 35 million tenge for the championship.

Over the entire history of the project, 12 “Cup of Hope” tournaments have been held, in which more than 2,500 children took part. Of these, 110 pupils from orphanages and boarding schools were awarded the degree of “Candidate for Master of Sports”.