International Day of Sport for Development and Peace 2023

#OpenGoal has been created by us and fellow members of the Sport for Development Coalition to showcase how sport and physical activity can contribute to building a fairer, more equitable and sustainable future. 

In particular, it will focus on how the 250-plus members of the Coalition specifically support a series of positive health and societal outcomes such as reducing crime and anti-social behaviour, and building stronger communities and social cohesion. 

IDSDP takes place each year on 6 April and, according to the United Nations, presents “an opportunity to recognise the positive role sport and physical activity play in communities and in people’s lives across the globe”. It is certain to resonate strongly in 2023 because of the cost-of-living crisis which has followed the Covid pandemic, and continued conflict and displacement around the globe.

First and foremost, #OpenGoal will see the Coalition call on UK Government to ring-fence funding committed for jobs, health and tackling crime towards targeted sport-based interventions that can save public money and generate multiple returns on investment, from improving the physical and mental health of individuals facing disadvantage and discrimination, to increasing educational attainment and the ability to secure employment. A good example of this is the £5million Youth Justice Sport Fund created by the Ministry of Justice in November 2022, and co-ordinated by Coalition partners StreetGames and the Alliance of Sport in Criminal Justice. More than 200 community-based organisations have received funding through the MoJ initiative. 

#OpenGoal will also see the Coalition work across multiple sectors, for example by working with partners to secure more private sector and corporate investment into targeted programmes tackling the social issues faced by young people in disadvantaged communities across the UK.

Finally #OpenGoal will also seek to champion sport’s role in tackling inequalities and building a fairer society through national and local media, helping to amplify the business case for scaled investment in targeted sport and physical activity-based interventions. 

To find out more, follow @SFDCoalition #OpenGoal on Twitter or visit sportfordevelopmentcoalition.org.