SESLA | Laureus

Sport for Education and Sustainable Livelihoods in Africa

In response to the fact that one in four young people in Africa are not in formal education, employment or training, Laureus Sport for Good, the International Olympic Committee and Agence Française de Développement alongside key African sport and social development institutions, have joined together to form the Sport for Education and Sustainable Livelihoods in Africa program (SESLA).

Launched in January 2024, SESLA is providing grant funding, training, peer learning opportunities and research, with the aim of leveraging the power of sport to empower young people to create more sustainable futures for themselves and their communities.

SELSA welcomed its grantees in 2025, and currently supports 29 projects across:

- Benin
- Democratic Republic of Congo
- Kenya
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Morocco
- Mozambique
- Nigeria
- Rwanda
- Senegal
- South Africa
- Tunisia
- Uganda

For SESLA grantees:

For questions, including downloaded SESLA logos and communications guidelines, please contact Program and Grants Manager Grace Veys: [email protected]

Visit Laureus Sport for Good’s Knowledge section for helpful resources.

About SESLA partners:

Laureus Sport for Good is a global charity that supports children and young people by using the power of sport to end violence, discrimination, and inequality. Over the last 24 years, Laureus has raised more than €150m for the sport for development sector, reaching and helping change the lives of more than six million children and young people. In 2023 alone, more than 32,000 young people showed improved attendance, engagement and/or retention in education and more than 20,000 young people gained employability related life, social and/or vocational skills.

Olympism365 is the IOC's approach to strengthening the role of sport as an important enabler for the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, which it achieves by collaborating with a range of partners from both within and outside the Olympic Movement. The themes and priority areas for Olympism365 reflect the positive role that sport, and Olympism can play in society for the SDGs by contributing to creating healthier and more active communities, more equitable, safer and inclusive communities, peacebuilding, and education and livelihoods. It is a catalyst for collective action, innovation and realizing the potential of urban sport and virtual sport to be a force for good.

Agence française de développement (AFD) finances, supports and accelerates the transitions necessary for a more just and resilient world. It thus contributes to implementing France's policy on sustainable development and international solidarity. It is with and for communities that we build, with our partners, solutions in more than 160 countries, as well as in 11 French overseas departments and territories. Our objective: To reconcile economic development with the preservation of common goods: the climate, biodiversity , peace, gender equality, education and health. Our teams are involved in more than 3,600 projects in the field, which are part of the commitment of France and the French people to fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goals. For a world in common.

25 Years of Laureus

Sport for Education and Sustainable Livelihoods in Africa

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