As a universal language that reaches millions of people around the world, sport is uniquely placed to contribute to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. Historically, sport has advanced the well-being of people and communities while promoting peace. Today, the expanding sport industry represents a significant tool for addressing social, economic and environmental issues.
Sport’s role as an enabler of sustainable development and peace was recognized by the Member States of the United Nations in the 2030 Agenda. In 2013, the United Nations General Assembly declared 6 April the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, commemorating the opening ceremony of the first modern Olympic Games on 6 April 1896. This decision reflected an expanding interest by a variety of stakeholders, including the public sector, the private sector and civil society, in leveraging the power of sport towards development and peace.
Why sport?
Stakeholders have identified at least three distinctive features that make sport’s contribution unique in the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The first feature is its broad social and geographical reach, which allows sport to influence attitudes and behaviours at the grass-roots level. Billions of individuals are involved in sport either as practitioners, spectators or facilitators. It plays an important role in educating and raising awareness of global issues while promoting healthy and sustainable lifestyles. Second, sport has the power to overcome cultural, political and socioeconomic barriers, which makes it a strategic tool for advancing peace and social inclusion. Finally, sport is increasingly seen as a low-cost, high-impact instrument for attaining sustainable development.
Sport and the achievement of the SDGs: Social, economic and environmental dimensions
These three features—broad reach, the power to overcome barriers, and low-cost, high impact—make sport an effective means of achieving the 2030 Agenda. In fact, sport can contribute to all three dimensions of the SDGs—social, economic and environmental. In the social dimension, sport fosters the inclusion of disadvantaged groups, including women, refugees and persons with disabilities. Initiatives such as the Runninghour Co-op in Singapore use the power of running to promote the integration of persons with disabilities, specifically intellectual disabilities. By breaking pre-existing stereotypes, sport tackles inequality while contributing to more inclusive and cohesive societies (SDGs 5 and 10). As a platform where marginalized groups can interact and integrate with other social groups, sport reduces stigma and discrimination while empowering disadvantaged people. Another initiative, NGO Ascend, leverages the power of sport to provide leadership skills and empower marginalized girls in Afghanistan and Pakistan between 15 and 24 years of age.
Given the rise of the sport industry in the global economy, integrating sustainability standards into the industry can have ripple effects, contributing to sustainable production and consumption standards in other industries.
Sport enables individuals to access and continue their education and learning (SDG 4). For example, sport projects for girls, including in refugee camps, have been used as an incentive to keep them in school. The United Nations acknowledges sport’s role as a vehicle for building and sustaining peace through its capacity for dialogue and trust-building, and in the way it promotes tolerance and respect (SDG 16).
Sport also contributes to the economic dimensions of the SDGs. According to Statista, the global sport industry is expected to be worth over $700 billion by 2026.?If properly engaged, the expanding industry could provide opportunities for inclusive and decent employment and economic growth (SDG 8), encourage innovation and resilient infrastructure (SDG 9) and help address poverty (SDG 1). Employment opportunities range from sport merchandising, tourism related to sport events, sport journalism?and sport advertising, to name a few. Sport has also been used to develop employability skills, thus contributing to the economic empowerment of individuals and communities. The Sport2Work project developed by the German Development Cooperation in cooperation with its Ethiopian partners, fosters employability competences among youth through sport.
Given the rise of the sport industry in the global economy, integrating sustainability standards into the industry can have ripple effects, contributing to sustainable production and consumption standards in other industries (SDG 12). Sport can also play an important role in supporting the environmental dimension of the SDGs through its broad social platform by raising awareness and influencing attitudes towards environmental issues (SDGs 13, 14 and 15). A recent study showed how fans are receptive to environmental initiatives, adjusting their behaviours not only during sports events but in their everyday life and becoming advocates in their communities. Sport-specific environmental sustainability campaigns, which involve athletes and teams as role models, can be key in this process.
To maximize the power of sport for social development and peace, important challenges need to be addressed. As the , titled “Sport: Catalyst for a Better, Stronger Recovery”, pointed out, the paradox of sport means that those with access to the largest pool of players, as in grass-roots sports, have the fewest resources. Unsustainable practices in sport have contributed to environmental challenges, including climate change. Such challenges need to be addressed to avoid the risk of undermining trust in sport as a key player in implementing the 2030 Agenda. This requires: 1) the genuine willingness and commitment of governments and other stakeholders to use sport to advance green and sustainable development and peace; 2) policies and initiatives for sport and development and peace with a coherent and comprehensive strategy, hard targets and mechanisms for control; and 3) comprehensive data on sport for development and peace. Important steps are being taken to address these issues. The forthcoming being prepared by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs gathers governmental polices and initiatives in the field of sport for development and peace and underscores an emerging commitment by governments to leverage the power of sport for development. The Quality Policy Education survey produced by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), addresses data gaps on policy education. The of the survey gathered data from 117 countries and 2,101 policy education teachers around the world.
United Nations celebration of the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace 2023
Challenges and opportunities in leveraging sport towards the 2030 Agenda will be at the heart of a series of United Nations-led initiatives during the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace. The social, economic and environmental dimensions of the SDGs, and sport’s unique contributions to them, represent the subject of a virtual side event gathering governments, the private sector and civil society, organized by the Division for Inclusive Social Development of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, at 8 a.m. ET on 6 April 2023 (). The virtual event will serve as a preface to the main event, which will take place in person at United Nations Headquarters in New York at 10:30 a.m. ET. Within the global theme, "Scoring for People and the Planet”, the in-person event will feature a number of Davos-style conversations highlighting the power of football and other sports in advancing the SDGs and human rights, with a focus on three main themes: sustainability and climate action, gender equality, and the fight against racism and hate speech (/en/observances/sport-day). These initiatives represent an important opportunity to assess the positive contribution of sport in achieving the 2030 Agenda, with a view to the forthcoming SDG Summit in September 2023.
In , “Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does […]?Sport can create hope where once there was only despair. It is more powerful than governments in breaking down racial barriers”. With seven years remaining to implement the 2030 Agenda, sport can play a key role as a catalyst to achieve the SDGs.
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