How Sport for Social Change Can Create Change

Foundation

The concept of SSC is based on the recognition that sport has unique features which enable it to contribute to development and peace practices. These include:

• Universal popularity: sport crosses national, cultural, socio-economic and political boundaries; it can be used in virtually any community.
• Powerful communications platform: events reach vast audiences and can support public education and social mobilisation.
• Ability to connect: sport is inherently social, bringing together players, teams, coaches, volunteers and spectators.
• Cross-cutting nature: sport can be used to address a broad range of social and economic challenges.
• Potential to empower, motivate and inspire: sport draws on, develops, and showcases individual strengths and capacities.

From inputs to impact

Sport for Social Change (SSC) works as a structured, evidence-based pathway where targeted inputs and activities lead to measurable personal, social, and societal impacts. A simple way to understand this is through a causal framework: from inputs, to activities, to outputs, to outcomes, and finally to long-term impact.

1) Inputs – The Foundation

Inputs are the resources and conditions that make SSC possible:

• Safe spaces: facilities where participants feel physically and emotionally secure.
• Trained coaches and mentors: people equipped to support both sport skills and personal development, leadership, and social integration.
• Regular sport sessions: consistent, structured opportunities to participate in team or individual activities in a predictable environment.

Example: At Hestia FC in Greece, coaches and staff create a welcoming football environment, while workshops provide additional learning and mentoring opportunities.

2) Activities – What Happens

Activities transform inputs into meaningful experiences:

• Sport sessions: structured physical activities, practices, and games.
• Mentoring: peer, role-model, coach-mentor, or community mentoring that supports personal growth and integration.
• Leadership workshops: training on communication, public speaking, problem-solving, or civic skills.
• Community events: intercultural gatherings, friendly matches, or awareness campaigns that promote inclusion.

Example: The “Steps Together” initiative in the Netherlands combines weekly walking or running sessions with short discussions on local rights, public services and health topics, guided by mentors.

3) Outputs – Immediate Results

Outputs are the tangible, short-term products of activities:

• Participation rates: the number of women, youth, or migrants engaged in sessions.
• Skills gained: physical abilities, teamwork, leadership, language, or life skills.
• New social connections: networks among participants, coaches, mentors, and local communities.

Example: In the SPIN (Sport Inclusion Network) projects, clubs report that refugee participants form supportive friendships, develop teamwork skills, and feel welcomed into local communities.

4) Outcomes – Medium-Term Change

Outcomes reflect changes in behaviour, mindset, or social position that result from these outputs:

• Confidence and self-efficacy: participants feel more capable of taking initiative and facing challenges.
• Social inclusion: participants experience a sense of belonging and recognition in society.
• Employability and education engagement: transferable skills that support job-seeking or further study.
• Community contribution: participants take active roles in community life or volunteer initiatives.

Example: At Hestia FC, participants lead warm-ups, organise activities, and speak publicly about their experiences, demonstrating increased autonomy and leadership.

5) Impact – Long-Term Transformation

Impact represents the broader societal and systemic change SSC can contribute to:

• Stronger, more cohesive societies: reduced prejudice and social barriers; greater solidarity.
• Interfaith and intercultural understanding: increased dialogue, respect, and reconciliation across communities.
• Sustainable development: contributions to the Sustainable Development Goals (e.g. gender equality, health, education, reduced inequalities).

Example: UEFA Foundation–funded projects integrate migrant and refugee children into local football clubs, fostering long-term inclusion and empowering future community leaders.

Mentoring lens

SSC offers a powerful platform for advancing social inclusion and empowerment, particularly among women of migrant background who may face cultural and linguistic barriers and limited access to education, employment, and community life. In this context, sport becomes more than physical activity—it becomes a social bridge, a confidence-building tool, and a means of belonging. When combined with structured mentoring, SSC can foster personal growth, social connection, and leadership. This turns participation into meaningful pathways for integration, agency, and long-term change.

1) The Power of Sport as a Transformative Space

• Non-verbal communication in sport (teamwork, movement, cooperation) transcends language.
• Shared training and play help to build trust and solidarity.
• Sport settings often feel less institutional than formal integration or education programmes—ideal entry spaces.

Through sport, women can experience empowerment, autonomy, and belonging—key preconditions for deeper inclusion.

2) The Role of Mentoring within SSC

Mentoring adds personal guidance, reflection, and skill transfer to the social and physical experience of participation. Forms include:

• Peer mentoring: participants support each other’s learning and adaptation.
• Role-model mentoring: women who have integrated through sport inspire and advise newcomers.
• Coach-mentor approach: coaches are trained to guide confidence, life skills, and personal growth.
• Community mentoring: links to local mentors (educators, entrepreneurs, social workers) for broader guidance.

In MOTM, mentors help turn sport sessions into opportunities for reflection, goal-setting and connection with the wider community—not just exercise.

Practice examples

Many organisations across Europe already use sport as a vehicle for social change, empowerment and inclusion. Below are selected examples that illustrate different models and sports.

International Olympic Truce Centre – Hestia FC (Greece)

Hestia FC is the first refugee- and migrant-women football team in the Balkans, founded in March 2019 by the International Olympic Truce Centre (IOTC) in Athens. The project aims at the protection, empowerment, social integration and psychological well-being of refugee and migrant women, as well as the promotion of Olympic values and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through sport.

The programme offers two weekly football trainings plus weekly workshops on SDGs and Olympic values. Beyond sport, Hestia FC facilitates social integration, psychological support, empowerment and leadership. Players come from diverse countries such as Syria, Afghanistan, Iran, Iraq, Egypt, Morocco, Cameroon, Congo, Somalia and Tajikistan. Hestia FC also organises friendly matches with local clubs, community-building events and pathways into other sports—creating broad participation and inclusion routes for refugee and migrant women.

SCORE – Social Inclusion of Migrant and Refugee Women through Sport (Europe)

SCORE develops tools and training programmes to support the inclusion and empowerment of migrant and refugee women through sport. It offers capacity-building for coaches, produces educational materials and strengthens organisations working in this field. Through SCORE, women gain confidence, community connections and access to learning and leadership opportunities.

Sport Inclusion Network (SPIN) – FairPlay Initiative (Europe)

SPIN is a European network promoting the inclusion of refugees, migrants and ethnic minorities in and through sport. It develops good practices, publishes toolkits and runs training for clubs and community leaders. SPIN supports organisations to make their sport environments more open, safe and socially cohesive.

PLAY International – REPLAY / Refugees PLAY United (France & Europe)

PLAY International designs socio-sport activities that combine physical activity with life-skills development and social inclusion. Through initiatives such as REPLAY, it trains coaches, educators and volunteers to work confidently with refugee and migrant communities, using sport as a vehicle for dialogue, cooperation and resilience.

ActionAid – Football3 / DIALECT3 (Greece & Europe)

ActionAid implements inclusion projects using the Football3 methodology, where football sessions integrate dialogue, cooperation and life-skills education. Through programmes like DIALECT3, girls and young women from migrant or refugee backgrounds gain leadership opportunities, mentorship and a safe community space to build confidence and express themselves.

Oltalom Sport Association (Hungary)

Oltalom uses football to support socially vulnerable groups, including refugees and asylum seekers. Its programmes combine regular sport practice with mentoring, education and social support—offering structure, life-skills and a stable community environment that help participants navigate daily challenges and integrate into local society.

Peaks4All (Switzerland)

Peaks4All promotes inclusion through mountain sports and outdoor activities. Refugees and local volunteers train together, learn outdoor skills, and build social bonds in nature. The project shows how non-traditional sports (beyond football) can be powerful tools for social inclusion, wellbeing and trust-building.

streetfootballworld – Football for Unity (Europe & Global)

As part of a global network, Football for Unity supports organisations across Europe to run inclusion programmes for refugees and migrants through football. It strengthens local capacities, fosters cross-border collaborations, and promotes football as a platform for intercultural dialogue, youth empowerment and community engagement.

UEFA Foundation for Children – Local Inclusion Projects (Europe)

The UEFA Foundation funds grassroots projects that use sport to protect, empower and integrate refugee and migrant children and youth. These include football academies, mentoring schemes, safe-space programmes and inclusive club partnerships—helping sustain long-term pathways from participation to community involvement and leadership.

Three levels

The objectives of SSC can also be viewed at three broad levels:

1. Individual Level — Personal Development
2. Societal Level — More Fair and Inclusive Societies
3. Worldwide Level — Interfaith and Intercultural Understanding

1) Individual Level: Personal Development

SSC focuses on personal development and success. Physical activity cultivates empowerment and the move from intention to action. Achieving small goals builds self-efficacy and hope for the future. Individual success contributes to the common good: as participants pursue their aspirations, they also become part of a broader effort toward development.

2) Societal Level: Inclusive Communities

SSC sets social inclusion as a priority. Physical activity is used to combat social barriers and prejudice and to enable participation of diverse groups. Organisations promoting SSC seek the engagement of all social groups, excluding no one. For example, the Olympic Refugee Foundation supports the protection, development and empowerment of children and youth in vulnerable situations through sport.

3) Worldwide Level: Interfaith and Intercultural Understanding

Sport holds major power in international understanding. SSC recognises sport’s unique ability to contribute to development and peace processes around the world, spreading values of peace. Activities advocate intercultural understanding, respect and interfaith dialogue. SSC initiatives seek reconciliation of international confrontations and promote multicultural coexistence.