With forced displacement surpassing 120 million worldwide, the International Olympic Committee and Olympic Refuge Foundation have joined a global coalition urging governments and humanitarian actors to embed sport more deeply into refugee responses.
Geneva | By Sayer Zaland
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Olympic Refuge Foundation (ORF) have joined more than 65 international organisations in calling for stronger recognition of sport as a critical tool in protecting and including people forced to flee their homes. The appeal comes ahead of the Global Refugee Forum Progress Review (GRF PR), scheduled to take place in Geneva from 15 to 17 December.
The call was formalised through a joint statement issued by the Sport for Refugees Coalition (SfRC), a global alliance bringing together National Olympic Committees, international sports federations, humanitarian agencies, and development organisations. The statement urges governments, donors, and humanitarian actors to move beyond symbolic support and systematically integrate sport into displacement and refugee response frameworks.
Specifically, the Coalition calls for increased investment in sport within displacement settings, the integration of sport across all pledging areas of the Global Refugee Forum, stronger support for refugee-led and locally led organisations, broader geographic representation, and the strengthening of national and local partnerships. The appeal reflects growing concern that humanitarian systems are under unprecedented strain as global displacement reaches record levels amid declining international solidarity and funding gaps. Sport as a “non-traditional” but critical actor
The statement underscores the role of sport as a “non-traditional actor” capable of contributing meaningfully to protection, inclusion, psychosocial support, and social cohesion for displaced communities. Despite evidence of growing impact since the launch of the Sport for Refugees Coalition in 2019, the Coalition warns that sport remains undervalued and inconsistently embedded within humanitarian responses.
As a long-standing advocate of sport as a driver of inclusion, the IOC reaffirmed its commitment to coordinated, multi-stakeholder action through the Olympic Refuge Foundation. Through partnerships across more than 90 countries, the Olympic Movement has sought to expand access to safe sport environments for refugees and to create pathways for participation, education, and leadership.
Established by the IOC and UNHCR ahead of the 2019 Global Refugee Forum and co-convened by the Olympic Refuge Foundation, UNHCR, and the Scort Foundation, the Sport for Refugees Coalition has grown to more than 170 member organisations spanning sport, humanitarian, public, and private sectors.
At the second Global Refugee Forum in 2023, the IOC presented a refreshed Multi-Stakeholder Sport Pledge, committing USD 45 million to benefit approximately 500,000 displaced people worldwide. Since that forum, Coalition members have collectively supported more than 529,000 people affected by displacement through sport-based programmes in over 92 countries. More than 11,000 coaches have been trained to deliver safe and inclusive activities, while over 160 sport spaces have been created or refurbished to provide secure environments for children and young people.
As global displacement continues to rise, the Coalition’s message ahead of the Geneva review is clear: sport is no longer a complementary activity in humanitarian settings, but a proven mechanism that must be embedded at the core of refugee protection and inclusion strategies.
