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Sport for Good
Nelson Mandella

‘Sport has the power to change the world’ – Nelson Mandela, 2000 Laureus World Sports Awards

25 Years of Laureus

‘Sport has the power to change the world’ – Nelson Mandela, 2000 Laureus World Sports Awards



Sport for Education and Sustainable Livelihoods in Africa 

Responding to the challenge of one in four young people in Africa are not in formal education, employment or training, Laureus Sport for Good, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Agence Française de Développement (AFD), alongside several key sport and social development institutions, joined together to form Sport for Education and Sustainable Livelihoods in Africa (SESLA).

Launched in 2024, SESLA is a collaborative initiative that harnesses the power of sport to improve and advance education, employability and economic empowerment outcomes for young people across Africa. 
Scaling youth-focused programmes 
Organisations across Africa have been implementing programmes using sport to support young people on and off the playing field, especially in the area of education and employability. SESLA is helping develop, strengthen and scale the reach of their programming through grant funding, tailored capacity-building training, peer learning opportunities and research. 

Together they represent a diverse network of community-based organisations working in different contexts across Africa, but united by a shared belief in the role of sports to create positive livelihood outcomes for young people. 
Learn more about the 2026-27 SESLA cohort
Youth-focused organisations
Taking collective action
SESLA is supported by a network of leading African and European sport and social international development institutions that includes Sport Impact (Senegal), Sport for Social Change Network (South Africa), Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, African Union Sports Council, and Association of National Olympic Committees of Africa. Together they make up the Steering Group that provides strategic guidance.

In 2026, Comic Relief joined as a partner, further strengthening programmatic efforts to achieve positive education and employability outcomes.

Through a collective action approach, SESLA is helping raise funds, advocate for the sport for good sector and influence policies that will empower African youth to shape more prosperous futures for themselves and their communities.
Collective Action

impact so far 

SESLA supported 29 programmes across 13 countries from 2024-26, cementing the groundwork and demonstrating sport as a tool for education, employability and economic participation. In this first phase, the initiative:
  • engaged 40,582 young people, building the critical skills, values and confidence; and providing access to quality programming that will help shape their futures
  • trained 3,185 educators, coaches, and youth workers in sport-for-education best practices
  • invested more than USD 2.07 million/EUR 1.9 million in grant funding to support organisations developing and implementing innovative, sports-based initiatives
  • spearheaded a participatory research project, empowering 25 youth across 8 countries to share their powerful stories of change.

stories from sesla

Génération Sports Extrêmes (GSX) 
When Génération Sports Extrêmes (GSX) opened its skatepark in 2023, it brought together a community hungry for a place to meet, connect and explore. That community grew through events, workshops and trainings on extreme sports. But GSX also noticed the challenges many young people were facing, including academics, finances, social and familial. So it wanted to add more value beyond extreme sports.

With support from the Sport for Education and Sustainable Livelihoods in Africa (SESLA) initiative, GSX opened an Education Hub in 2025. The Hub helps young people succeed in their studies, develop soft skills that strengthen their learning capabilities and build confidence, and find mentorships. 
MindLeaps
MindLeaps taps into the art of dance to activate young people’s social-emotional learning and cognitive skills in Rwanda.

Through its dance curriculum led by professional instructors with a unique methodology, participants can take what they learn in the dance studio into other programmes MindLeaps offers, such as information technology and English language learning.

By working on soft skills to empower them to develop hard skills, MindLeaps participant can excel in their academics, prepare for the job market and become self-reliant.
1000 Hills Rugby
1000 Hills Rugby creates a safe environment for young people in Rwanda to develop their rugby skills. But it goes beyond teaching them the sport. 

With support of the Sport for Education and Sustainable Livelihoods in Africa (SESLA) initiative, 1000 Hills Rugby delivers programmes that help participants complete their education and prepare for the job market. 

One of the ways it accomplishes this is through employability workshops trainings for those in secondary education. The workshops cover topics such as CV writing, job interviews and obtaining internships. 

1000 Hills also infuses life skills into its rugby trainings, including teamwork, resilience and confidence so that their participants can transfer those skills into the workplace. 

join this movement

The next chapter of SESLA will build on this foundation by deepening programme quality, strengthening evidence and learning, and forming the long-term sustainability of sport for sustainable livelihoods approaches in Africa. 

We invite partners, funders, policymakers and advocates to take part in scaling a movement where the power of sport is creating opportunities and more equitable futures across the continent.

Connect with SESLA 


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