Sport for development in an age of aid retrenchment: Navigating the new global order

Early Signals of Adaption

Despite a challenging landscape, many S4D organizations are adapting with creativity and resilience. Necessity is the mother of invention, and we are seeing early signals of innovation in both programming and financing models:

• Reinventing Programs and Partnerships: In Norway, the Football Association of Norway has linked youth sport initiatives with climate action and anti-racism programming. In Ghana, the NGO Play for Peace has shifted to a fee-for-service training model. In Colombia, Tiempo de Juego launched a social enterprise that sells sport-based life-skills curricula to local governments and schools.
• Diversifying Income Streams: Across the Global South, grassroots organizations are working creatively to reduce their dependence on traditional aid. In Kenya and Nigeria, NGOs are leveraging diaspora networks and crowdfunding platforms. Youth-led collectives in India and the Philippines are engaging with private-sector CSR funds by merging sport with vocational training and the arts. Early pilots of pooled funding mechanisms are emerging — such as the vehicle being developed by the FiCS Coalition for Sustainable Development through Sport.
• Narrative Agility: Members of the Sport Impact Group report success in rebranding their messaging to resonate across political divides, shifting from “social justice” to terms like “local opportunity” and “community resilience.”

New support initiatives are emerging. For example, Remedy — a social enterprise founded by S4D practitioners — focuses on building fundraising capacity for grassroots sport organizations through online courses, bespoke coaching, and the Sport Fundraising Summit.

Pioneering S4D actors are also experimenting with digital finance and community ownership:

• Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs): One notable case is Krause House, which backs the All In for Sport DAO. This initiative aims to create a community-governed funding mechanism for inclusive sports projects by crowdsourcing a global S4D endowment using Web3 tools.
• Community Ownership and Cooperatives: There is renewed interest in cooperative models. Some sports clubs are issuing community shares or forming cooperatives to give supporters direct ownership in their social mission. For instance, a network of fan-owned football clubs in West Africa is repurposing this model for local development impact.

Glimmers of Opportunity

Even in retrenchment, new opportunities arise. As traditional donors retreat, alternative coalitions form and power dynamics shift:

• Regional Leadership: The African Union’s Sport Policy Framework calls for greater alignment between sport and development across member states. In Latin America, S4D actors are collaborating on regionally grounded programs instead of relying solely on transatlantic partnerships.
• New Financing Models: In Colombia and South Africa, outcomes-based contracts and social impact bonds are being tested in the broader social sector, with potential S4D applications. If inclusively structured, these tools can fund outcomes like youth development through sport.
• Crypto Philanthropy: Crypto in S4D is now tangible. READY (Ready Sport Global) recently launched a free certification on Blockchain, Sport and Social Impact, aimed at educating S4D practitioners on Web3 tools and crypto-based funding mechanisms.

A Five-Point Playbook for Collective Action

1. Marginalized Voices Shape the Narrative: Elevate voices of community leaders, youth participants, and Global South experts to tell authentic, politically resonant stories.
2. Invest deliberately in fundraising skills: Ringfence 5–10% of unrestricted income for training in grant writing, narrative strategy, and blended finance. Low-cost, on-demand offerings from Remedy let even small teams build capacity without leaving the field.
3. Expand the funding toolbox: Go beyond grants — pilot community shares, cooperative ownership, DAO-based collectives, targeted crowdfunding, and social impact investments. Diversified, values-aligned capital can buffer against volatile funding.
4. Make transparency your differentiator: Use participant-led storytelling, results dashboards, and feedback loops. For example, Street League's 2015–2016 report under Matt Stevenson-Dodd set a benchmark by publishing both successes and missed targets, including cost-per-outcome data.
5. Align messages and metrics across sectors: Use platforms like Sportanddev to share data, co-author op-eds, and coordinate advocacy that links sport to climate action, mental health, and local economic resilience.

This is not just a period of retrenchment; it could be a turning point toward a more just, plural, and locally anchored sport for development ecosystem. The coming years are a chance to flip power dynamics, embrace environmental and social innovation, and prove again why sport matters in building a better world. The playbooks are being rewritten — and if we get it right, the next chapter for S4D could be its most impactful yet.

About the author

Jimmy Schneidewind is an international social‑impact strategist, member of the Sport Impact Group, and grant writer for Casual Ballerz CIC, specializing in innovative systems approaches for sport‑for‑development organizations.