The Power of Sport
The Power of Sport
Together with partners, UNHCR supports refugee access to sport, harnessing its transformative power to assist and uphold their rights, and strengthen their integration within their host communities
blank text
UNHCR x FIFA Women's World Cup 2023
As part of this year's Women's World Cup jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand, UNHCR has partnered with FIFA and sister UN organisations in support of the 'Football Unites the World' campaign. UNHCR is calling for people around the world to Unite for Peace in solidarity with forcibly displaced people. UNHCR content will be promoted during 8 matches in Round 16 across Wellington, Auckland, Adelaide, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.
Text and media 21
Exiled Afghan women’s football team scores goals in Australia
Team members have found safety and “a second chance” in Melbourne while using every opportunity to advocate for the rights of women back home.
Goal Click Refugees: Lives of the Displaced through the Lens of Football
Photographic and written series from Goal Click with UNHCR chronicles personal stories from refugees and football’s role to help re-anchor lives and open paths to a brighter future
Asif Sultani, an Afghan athlete and refugee activist living in Australia, shares his lessons on overcoming defeat and cultivating resilience.
An integrated team of refugees and their Angolan neighbours is helping to break down barriers and foster understanding, proving that the beautiful game can be a win-win contest.
Former refugee and his brother launch new initiative to provide boots and kits to help young players.
Text and media 7
FIFA and UNHCR formalize relations with landmark MoU signing
The long-term agreement will lead to both organizations working closely with those forcibly displaced from their homes and help to strengthen communities through enhanced access to football, education and other opportunities.
Everyone belongs on the sporting field
Australian sports leagues celebrate Harmony Week and sport's powerful ability to foster social cohesion and community integration.
Children play football in Kutupalong refugee camp, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh.
Text and media 2
UNHCR partners with FC Barcelona to bring the power of sport to displaced children
Football might be the world’s favourite game. But for children – especially those uprooted due to war, violence and persecution – it can also be a lifeline.
![Kenya. Kakuma Kalobeyei Stars FC](/au/sites/en-au/files/styles/de2e/public/RF1233985.webp?itok=8q-5UiBp&t=1688964734 "18-year-old Margret Monday is a South Sudanese refugee living with her mother and two siblings in the Kakuma refugee camp."If I had to pick one thing in the world, it would be football," Margret said." Football makes me happy; when I'm diving and catching balls, I feel free."
The Kakuma Kalobeyei Stars FC, also called KK Stars, comprises refugee and local women who play soccer. They represent refugees in Kenya's national tournaments and leagues for women.")
Twelve-year-old Syrian, Zeinab, from Deir ez-Zor, seen here at the Azraq Taekwondo Academy in Jordan, is one of the many Syrian refugees visited by UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi.
Helping young refugees discover their potential through sports
A Sports Coalition joins UNHCR and the International Olympic Committee to harness the unique unifying power of sport.
Text and media 18
Basketball bonus lets young refugees shoot hoops of hope
With an extra bounce in their step, students in refugee settlements in East Awin, Papua New Guinea, are rediscovering the joys of playing basketball, thanks to a donation by the Fédération Internationale de Basketball that is drawing young refugees and locals together.
UNHCR Sport Strategy 2022-2026
For stateless, refugees and others displaced by conflict and persecution, sport is ‘More than a Game’. For these individuals and communities, sport can be transformational; create new opportunities, build friendships, and even establish careers. Understanding the universal language of sport and its power to cross borders and cultures, the Strategy identifies five areas where UNHCR will focus its work.
Text and media 13
Sport for Protection Toolkit
Programming with young people in forced displacement settings
The Toolkit is aimed at humanitarian and sport organizations who want to use sport as a tool to support the protection and development of refugees and other displaced young people. The approach adopted in the toolkit features evidence-based elements from three different sectors to create what we now call Sport for Protection:
- Child protection, which seeks to strengthen young people’s protective environments and reduce their risk factors for abuse, neglect, exploitation and violence;
- Youth empowerment, which identifies and encourages the use of young people’s assets and potential;
- Sport for development and peace, which provides an efficient, flexible and cost-effective way of promoting peace and development across societies.
