Summary: 2025 Week of action on sport for refugees

Every year, the Sport for Refugees Coalition (SfRC) and International Platform on Sport and Development (sportanddev) run a week of activities dedicated to the intersection of sport and refugees. It provides opportunities for learning, exchange and advocacy on the role of sport in addressing forced displacement, enabling greater coordination and impact.

The 2025 Week of Action took place from 7-11 April 2025 and was organized by the co-convenors of the SfRC - UNHCR, the Olympic Refuge Foundation and the SCORT Foundation - and sportanddev. 

The Week of Action provides a platform for actors to learn from each other, raise awareness of sport’s role in responding to displacement, and coordinate the sport ecosystem.

Article submissions

In March 2025, sportanddev published a Call for Articles, providing an opportunity for the community to submit stories, reports and research from their field of operation. Contributions were written around two key themes:

1. How can sport support the inclusion of displaced people in cities or municipalities?
2. How can discrimination against refugees be addressed in sport for development 

At the time of publishing, 20 articles have been submitted from organisations in 4 languages. Selected articles have been cross-translated at the discretion of the sportanddev language consultants to ensure equitable access to the information.

View 2025 Week of Action article submissions:

English | Français | العربية | Español

Online workshops

On April 8th and 10th 2025, sportanddev and partners hosted two online workshops on the same two respective topics. The information gathered through these two online workshop events will inform the focus of the SfRC’s presence and inputs at the High-Level Officials Meeting in Geneva in December 2025.

Workshop: Bridging Communities: Cities' Role in Sport for Inclusion

175 registrants, 65 attendees

Webinar recording: Bridging Communities: Cities' Role in Sport for Inclusion | Watch on YouTube

Sport Against Hate: Tackling Discrimination through Sport

155 registrants, 45 attendees

Webinar recording: Sport Against Hate: Tackling Discrimination through Sport | Watch on YouTube

Everyone in the sport ecosystem has a role to play in improving the lives of displaced people and their host communities – and together we can achieve far more. For this reason, everyone – from grassroots organizations through to national and international organizations – is invited to join the Multi-stakeholder Pledge on Sport for Inclusion and Protection. By making a commitment under the pledge, you can also join the Sport for Refugees Coalition. 

About the Sport for Refugees Coalition

Established around the first Global Refugee Forum in 2019 and co-convened by UNHCR - the UN Refugee Agency, the Olympic Refuge Foundation (ORF) and the Scort Foundation, the Sport for Refugees Coalition brings together more than 130 entities from the world of sport, civil society, public and private sectors to extend access to sport to refugees and other displaced people around the world.

• View the Sport for Refugees Coalition website section.
• For more information on the Sport for Refugees Coalition and how you can get involved, please reach out at [email protected].