Playing the Long Game

In a rapidly changing world, sport has been a constant. A cornerstone of socialization and culture. A pillar of health. A mirror of society, reflecting to us the challenges we face daily like sustainability, social justice, and more. ​
Sport changemakers continually offer innovative, systems-changing solutions so sport contributes to the good of all. Seeing an opportunity to fuel deeper learning, reflection, and action, the Sport for Changemaking team published Changemaking Takes a Team: How Sport Has the Power to Shift Mindsets.

It highlights:

· Four shifts transforming the sport ecosystem, rooted in the work of social entrepreneurs around the world.

· A path forward featuring five recommendations for all stakeholders in the sport ecosystem to realize their power to create positive change.

How might everyone in the sports ecosystem see themselves as powerful contributors to the good of all?

Sport Changemakers offer more than just theoretical solutions, rather they continue to identify and drive the patterns or methodologies for change around the world. The four shifts in this new paradigm of sport highlight the transformations we can together achieve:

shift A

Invest in the whole person to activate the agency of individuals

Shift B

Provide opportunities for all​ to thrive

Shift C

Leverage the footprint of sports

Shift D

Expand the responsibility of the sport industry

Sport Changemakers in the Ashoka Fellow Network

Ashoka Fellows address root causes of global and local social problems to fundamentally disrupt them, thereby changing systems. They do this by creating new fields, building relationships where none previously existed, offering people new roles and relationships, and fundamentally helping people see differently so they can do differently

a

BEKA NTSANWISI

Ashoka Fellow since Mar 2014
South Africa

Diane Pereira Sousa

Diane Pereira Sousa

Ashoka Fellow since Jan 2018 Incubadora de Esporte e Cidadania - Brazil

a

JOSE SOARES

Ashoka fellow since 2023 | Portugal

a

Mel Young

Ashoka Fellow since Dec 2013
Homeless World Cup - United Kingdom

2023 Insights Report

Ashoka's Sport for Changemaking Insights Report delves into the evolving sport ecosystem. Drawing from Ashoka Fellows and Sport Changemakers' experiences, it outlines four key shifts and strategies for fostering a more equitable world. Join us in exploring, downloading, sharing, and providing feedback. Let's collaborate to activate change!