What is the future of sport and development?

This is a critical time for actors involved in sport and development. The future is uncertain and while there are many challenges, there are also opportunities to use sport for a better future.

The COVID-19 pandemic provides an opportunity to reassess sport and development. While much progress has been made in the last two decades in enhancing the use of sport for development and peace, the current crisis has highlighted the gross inequities within sport and society.

Many have argued that now is the time to consider ways in which sport can better serve society and how sport and development can build back better. This is even more critical, as a recent report showed that 20% of organisations are fearing for their future due to these challenges.

Reimagining sport and development

Given this, in 2020 sportanddev launched a campaign and call for articles on Reimagining the future of sport and development which resulted in the following outputs from our global community.

• 55 articles received from across 6 continents
• Comprehensive report on the campaign
• Webinar recording

It is an opportune moment to ask whether we are doing the right things in the first place. What do you think? Consider the following questions?

1) Should sport and development go back to business as usual? Is this even possible?

2) Does sport need to change to better serve society? If so, how and why?

3) What can sport and development actors do better in the future?

4) How can sport play a greater role in contributing to development and peace?

5) Can we reimagine the role of sport? What does the future look like?

Reflect

Please share your thoughts in the discussion feed below.

Remember to respect different points of view and use this as a learning and sharing experience.