IOC and AFD launch groundbreaking initiative using sport to tackle youth crime in Southeast Asia

01 July 2025 – A call for applications has been opened to support sport-based projects in Southeast Asia through development grants. This is part of a new initiative launched by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Agence française de développement (AFD), together with regional stakeholders, aimed at supporting youth crime prevention and building safer and more resilient communities through sport.

The launch of the Southeast Asia Sport and Youth Crime Prevention (SYCP) Initiative follows one of the 45 commitments to use sport as a tool to advance the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) made in June at the Olympism365 Summit: Sport for a Better World. The commitments are expected to generate together over USD 200 million in value over the next four years.

Organisations that use sport as a tool for youth crime prevention and creating safer communities in Lao PDR, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam are now invited to apply for a development grant. All the details can be found here.

A collaborative and community-based approach

In addition to investing in community-led projects, the SYCP Initiative will:

• develop strong national and regional networks that bring together stakeholders from across the sport and criminal justice sectors, support programme delivery and promote knowledge exchange;
• provide training and capacity-building for professionals working in youth development, justice and sport;
• establish a regional network of organisations to support ongoing learning and collaboration through conferences, webinars, digital platforms and other knowledge-sharing tools;
• support research and advocate for evidence-based policies that integrate sport into broader crime prevention and social development strategies.

This initiative will further demonstrate how sport can play an important role in empowering young people and making communities safer. The Olympism365 Summit showed how cross-sector collaboration can make a real and lasting difference in people’s lives. This programme is a tangible example of sport and criminal justice stakeholders working together to promote the strengths of young people and reduce risk factors leading to involvement in anti-social behaviour and youth crime.

Ollie Dudfield, IOC Olympism365 Associate Director

“AFD is proud to launch this new programme in Southeast Asia with the IOC and a consortium of implementing partners led by Alliance of Sport. This initiative will strongly contribute to reinforcing the role of sport in youth crime prevention strategies,” explained Laureline Triby, AFD’s Head of the Social Link Division.

We are looking forward to working together with the public sector, the sport movement and civil society organisations to accelerate the contribution of sport to youth empowerment and build safer and more resilient communities.

Laureline Triby, AFD’s Head of the Social Link Division

The SYCP Initiative will be delivered in Lao PDR, the Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam by a consortium coordinated by the Alliance of Sport in Criminal Justice (AoS), working with a wide network of national, regional and international organisations.

We’re proud to be working alongside the IOC, AFD and many other incredible partners. This initiative is an exciting opportunity to drive a collective impact approach, align policy and practice – building on the foundations we have laid through research with the Thailand Institute of Justice and our ongoing efforts to elevate the role of sport in preventing youth crime across Southeast Asia.

James Mapstone, AoS Chief Executive

The SYCP Initiative supports the IOC’s Olympism365 strategy and AFD’s broader efforts to use sport as a tool for advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

Olympism365 Summit: Sport for a Better World

The IOC and AFD announced the launch of this funding programme at the Olympism365 Summit: Sport for a Better World (3-5 June).

The Summit was convened by the IOC, with over 300 participants from more than 100 organisations and 70 countries coming together in Lausanne, Switzerland.

The SYCP Initiative also builds on growing collaboration between the IOC and AFD. In recent years, the two organisations have jointly supported a range of sport-based programmes in Africa and other regions, including projects linked to the international legacy of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.