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Sport for Good
Sesla

Sport for Education and Sustainable Livelihoods in Africa 

- Click here to see this information in French.
- Click here to see this information in Portuguese.
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. 

We are announcing two funding opportunities focused on using sports-based approaches to improving pathways for young people, to be delivered over 12 months between January and December 2025. 

 1. Open Call for Proposals are designed to support project delivery of non-profit organizations which use or wish to use sport as a tool to further support the development of education and employability of young people in Africa. Grants of between 40,000 to 50,000 USD are available. 

2. Collaborative Project Grants are designed to incentivize and support collaboration across the sport, non-profit, government, and private sector to test innovative approaches and ideas on how sport can be used to promote employability pathways and create sustainable livelihoods for young people in Africa . Collaborative grants of between 70,000 to 100,000 USD for consortia of two or more organizations are available.   
SESLA

timeline and assessment process

Both funding opportunities open on 2nd September 2024. The Open Call application period will close on 27th September. The Collaborative Calls application period will close one week later on 4th October 2024. During this period, applications may be submitted online using application links shown below.  

Laureus will conduct initial reviews of all applications and shortlist based on the grant criteria. An external SESLA assessment group will review the shortlist and make final recommendations. Successful applicants will be informed in September 2024 with program implementation beginning January 2025. All applicants will be informed of the outcome of their application and will be encouraged to take part in ongoing SESLA network activities. 

An English-language webinar took place and the recording of that session can be viewed below.

 A second webinar in French to provide more details on the SESLA program and funding opportunities will take place on September 24 at 1130 UTC/1230 WAT/1330 CAT/1430 EAT. You can register here.

Potential candidates may submit questions prior to the webinar by sending them to [email protected]. These questions will be addressed during the webinar.
Video

  **Please refer to the full application criteria before applying, which is available here.**

You can download the offline application forms for the Open Call for Proposals and the Collaborative Grants.

The documentation is also available in French. Click here for the criteria.

Click here for the Open Call for Proposals application form and here for the Collaborative Grant form.

 The documentation is also available in Portuguese. Click here for the criteria.

Click here to get the registration form for the general edit, or click to get the collaborative edit.

application process 

SESLA
Please refer to the full application criteria before starting an application. Organizations who meet the respective criteria and wish to apply should submit their submission online by using the following links. To submit an application for the Open Call for Proposals: CLICK HERE

To submit an application for the Collaborative Grant Proposals: CLICK HERE

The required Excel budget template for the Open Call for proposals be found HERE and the template for the Collaborative Call is HERE. Please use USD as the budget currency.

Offline applications submitted by email will not be considered.

Organisations who have applied for either the Open or Collaborative call for applications for 2025 funding will be contacted regarding the outcome of their application in the week of 25th November 2024.

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.

French Development Agency (AFD) Group 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.

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