The International Platform on Sport and Development

Two children playing basketball.

About

Sport can be a cost-effective tool for development and peace. The United Nations has recognised it as an ‘enabler of development’ in Agenda 2030, the plan of action that includes the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Organisations worldwide are using sport to work on issues ranging from gender equality and education to employment and conflict resolution.

The International Platform on Sport and Development (sportanddev) is the leading global hub for organisations and individuals using sport for social, economic and environmental objectives. It operates an online platform in English, French, Spanish and Arabic for sharing knowledge, building good practice, facilitating coordination and creating partnerships.

The sportanddev.org website receives over 600,000 unique visitors per year, over 1.5million page views and has over 1,000 registered organisations and 10,000 registered individuals.

sportanddev is operated by the International Sport and Culture Association (ISCA) a non-governmental and not-for-profit umbrella association of organisations working on physical activity, social inclusion through sports, healthy lifestyles and grassroots sport. Established in 1995, ISCA has a democratic backbone of 99 statutory member organisations and serves a broad and vibrant community of almost 4000 organisations and individuals in the sector.

Our Massive Open Online Course

With the Commonwealth Secretariat and Australian government, and FutureLearn and other partners, sportanddev have developed and managed a highly successful massive open online course (MOOC) on Sport for Sustainable Development: Designing Effective Policies and Programmes. The course is designed to build capacity and maximise the contribution sport can make to the SDGs. The course has attracted over 9,000 learners from 197 countries and counting (as of February 2025), and it is now available in French, Arabic and Spanish.

The Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

The Commonwealth Secretariat

International Sport and Culture Association