IOC Joins Sport for Refugees Coalition in a Call to Strengthen the Role of Sport in Refugee Responses

12 December 2025 – The International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Olympic Refuge Foundation (ORF) have joined more than 65  organisations in calling for “greater recognition and action to use sport in the protection and inclusion of people who have been forced to flee their homes”.

Both the IOC and ORF have signed a joint statement from the Sport for Refugees Coalition (SfRC) which has been published ahead of the upcoming Global Refugee Forum Progress Review (GRF PR) in Geneva from 15 to 17 December. Signatories to the statement include National Olympic Committees (NOC), International Federations such as International Judo Federation and Hockey Federation, as well as a number of sport for  development and non-governmental organisations.  

Specifically, the Coalition calls on governments, donors, humanitarian organisations, and sports bodies to:

1. Recognise and invest in the role of sport in displacement settings
2. Integrate sport across all pledging areas at the Global Refugees Forum
3. Support meaningful participation of refugee-led and locally led organisations 
4. Expand geographic diversity and amplify leadership from low- and middle-income countries

STRENGTHEN NATIONAL AND LOCAL PARTNERSHIPS

Forced displacement now exceeds 120 million globally, amid widening humanitarian gaps and declining global solidarity. The Coalition recognizes that this is placing increasing pressure on already stretched systems and limiting the prospects of people forced to flee. In this context, the Statement emphasizes the importance of engaging “non-traditional actors” – highlighting the role the sport community is ready to play.

Despite growing impact following the launch of the Sport for Refugees Coalition at the 2019 Global Refugee Forum, the statement notes that the role of sport in humanitarian contexts remains undervalued. The Coalition outlines a clear set of priorities to strengthen impact and ensure sport is embedded more systematically in responses to displacement.As a long-standing supporter of sport as a driver of inclusion and protection for displaced people to further the vision to build a better world through sport, the IOC reinforces the Coalition’s call for coordinated action.

Through the work of the Olympic Refuge Foundation and its partnerships worldwide, the Olympic Movement continues to demonstrate a commitment to expanding access to safe sport for refugees and strengthening pathways for participation.

A BROAD COALITION DELIVERING MEANINGFUL CHANGE

Established by the IOC and UNHCR in advance of the Global Refugee Forum in 2019 and co-convened by the Olympic Refuge Foundation (ORF), UNHCR and the Scort Foundation, the SfRC has grown to more than 170 members across the sport, humanitarian, public, and private sectors. Its purpose is to leverage sport for the protection and inclusion of people affected by displacement. The IOC, on behalf of the Olympic and wider sport movement, presented the refreshed Multi-stakeholder Sport Pledge at the second forum in 2023, which commited USD 45 million to benefit 500.000 displaced people.

Since the last Global Refugee Forum in 2023, Coalition member organisations have collectively supported more than 529,000 people affected by displacement through sport-based programmes in over 92 countries. More than 11,000 coaches have been trained to deliver safe and inclusive activities, and over 160 sport spaces have been created or refurbished, to expand access to safe environments for the protection and inclusion of children and young people impacted by displacement.