SESLA welcomes 2026-27 cohort of organisations driving youth education and employability across Africa
Through the Sport for Education and Sustainable Livelihoods in Africa (SESLA) initiative, funding partners International Olympic Committee (IOC), Agence Française de Développement (AFD), Laureus Sport for Good and Comic Relief are pleased to welcome a new cohort of 23 organisations across Africa that will receive support to expand the use of sport as a tool for education, employability and economic empowerment.
The organisations received either seed grants to build programming that uses sport to enhance the education and employability of its young people through innovate approaches or collaborations; or scale grants to further strengthen existing programming.
In addition to grant funding, the selected organisations will receive support in tailored capacity-building, technical assistance and peer learning opportunities to implement and strengthen sport-based programmes. Such programming will equip young people with transferable skills, connect them to education and employability opportunities, and help them build more sustainable futures for themselves and their communities.
This latest cohort was identified through a competitive process that assessed their experience, financial suitability, methodology, and commitment to safeguarding and inclusion. Together, they represent a diverse network of community-based organisations working in different contexts across Africa, but united by a shared belief in the role of sports to create positive education and livelihood outcomes.
A complete list of the 2026-27 SESLA-funded organisations can be found below.
In addition to grant funding, the selected organisations will receive support in tailored capacity-building, technical assistance and peer learning opportunities to implement and strengthen sport-based programmes. Such programming will equip young people with transferable skills, connect them to education and employability opportunities, and help them build more sustainable futures for themselves and their communities.
This latest cohort was identified through a competitive process that assessed their experience, financial suitability, methodology, and commitment to safeguarding and inclusion. Together, they represent a diverse network of community-based organisations working in different contexts across Africa, but united by a shared belief in the role of sports to create positive education and livelihood outcomes.
A complete list of the 2026-27 SESLA-funded organisations can be found below.
Laying the Foundation
SESLA was launched in 2024 by the IOC, AFD and Laureus Sport for Good, alongside several leading African and European sport and social development institutions. In 2026, Comic Relief joined as a partner, further strengthening the initiative's collective commitment to advancing education, employability and economic empowerment through sport across Africa, especially girls and young women who are disproportionately affected.
The 2026-27 cohort builds on the strong foundations established during SESLA’s first phase, which saw 29 organisations supported across 13 African countries, 40,582 young people reached and 3,185 coaches, educators and youth workers trained. These organisations demonstrated how sport can contribute to meaningful outcomes in education, employability and youth development.
The need for such sports-based approaches remains significant. Africa is home to the world's youngest and fastest-growing population, yet many young people continue to face barriers to education and meaningful employment. One in four young people are not in education, employment or training (NEET), with 60 per cent being girls and young women. This highlights the importance of innovative and inclusive approaches that help young people develop the skills, confidence and networks needed to transition successfully into the labour market.
The 2026-27 cohort builds on the strong foundations established during SESLA’s first phase, which saw 29 organisations supported across 13 African countries, 40,582 young people reached and 3,185 coaches, educators and youth workers trained. These organisations demonstrated how sport can contribute to meaningful outcomes in education, employability and youth development.
The need for such sports-based approaches remains significant. Africa is home to the world's youngest and fastest-growing population, yet many young people continue to face barriers to education and meaningful employment. One in four young people are not in education, employment or training (NEET), with 60 per cent being girls and young women. This highlights the importance of innovative and inclusive approaches that help young people develop the skills, confidence and networks needed to transition successfully into the labour market.
Evidence from SESLA's first phase further reinforces this approach. A participatory video voice research involving young people from eight SESLA-supported organisations found that sport programmes helped participants build confidence, strengthen work-readiness skills and develop greater optimism about their futures. The research also highlighted the value of sport in creating safe spaces for mentorship, belonging and accessible learning opportunities, offering important insights that will help inform and strengthen the 2026-27 cohort.
As this cohort begins its journey, SESLA continues to build a growing movement of organisations using sport to help young people develop the skills, resilience and opportunities they need to thrive in a changing world.
As this cohort begins its journey, SESLA continues to build a growing movement of organisations using sport to help young people develop the skills, resilience and opportunities they need to thrive in a changing world.
2026-27 SESLA-funded organisations
Seed grant recipients:
- Afrika Matters Initiative (South Africa): Its ‘Next Play Africa’ programme is designed to use basketball to shift what young people in Cape Town, especially in Heideveld, believe is possible for themselves, through skills, exposure and mentorship.
- Association LEAD Morocco (Morocco): Aims to develop young female coaches by lowering the professional and structural barriers that prevent them from turning their passion for football into a sustainable career.
- Association TIBU Maroc (Morocco): The Second Change School pathway programme combines sport-based education, technical training, life skills, personal development, professional orientation and employability support.
- Community Consortium Uganda: The ‘Tuzanye: Sports for Change’ project integrates play-based learning, sport for development, psychosocial support and systems strengthening across schools and community settings in Uganda.
- Integrated Community Development Initiative (Uganda): Its programming will develop a sports-based approach to support young people in refugee-host sub-counties of Rugaaga, Kashumba, Rushasha and surrounding Nakivale Refugee Settlement.
- International Alert (Nigeria): The Ƙafar Makoma project uses football and athletics as entry points to engage vulnerable urban youth in Abuja, connecting them to education, psychosocial support, life-skills development and livelihood opportunities.
- Kick4Life (Lesotho): The Youth Employability Programme strengths young people's employability, including vulnerable groups and athletes, through tailored mentoring sessions and work experience opportunities. It prodivdes transferable vocational skills. career guidance and progression pathways, using sport as a central element to address employment barriers.
- Nigeria American Football Association (Nigeria): An American football-based programme which provides young people with access to structured sport, life skills, mentorship, competitions, scholarships and personal development pathways.
- Youth Sport and Education (Benin): YSE’s ‘Beyond the Court’ programme combines sport, mentorship, educational support and professional exploration for young women and girls.
Scale grant recipients:
- Action Network for the Disabled (Kenya): Delivers inclusive sport, such as cerebral palsy football, amputee football and sitting volleyball, for young people with a disability to build essential life skills while creating pathways into broader employment opportunities.
- ASC Malika Surk (Senegal): Its ‘Surf Kids Shredding Senegal’ programme offers educational support through surfing for personal development, providing children with opportunities to develop while supporting their educational path.
- Associação Moçambicana de Capoeira (Mozambique): Delivers weekly Capoeria classes complemented by vocational and education sessions that cover a range of topics, including information technology, photography, cooking, environment, agriculture and biodiversity.
- CATCH TRUST (South Africa): By developing employable, community-based coaches in cricket and netball, the ‘CATCH Coaches Academy’ programme addresses both individual livelihood needs and broader community gaps, creating shared value for participants, institutions and the communities they serve.
- ChezaCheza (Kenya): The ‘Dance for Change’ programme trains teachers to integrate dance-based social-emotional learning into classrooms, while also training youth to become facilitators and entrepreneurs.
- CoolPlay (South Africa): Provides an after-school sport for development programme at primary and high schools. Through a structured team sport programme, it teaches 12 values that focus on socio-emotional learning and mental well-being.
- Deaf Outreach Program (Kenya): The ‘Playing field for deaf youth in livelihood skills training’ programme integrates sitting volleyball training in schools with a structured life skills and well-being programme. In parallel, the programme provides targeted transition support for deaf youth who have completed year 4, linking them to vocational skills training in collaboration with the Institute for Disability Training.
- Friends of Health Initiative (Rwanda): Its programming combines football and dance to build psychological resilience, improves school retention and enhances entrepreneurial and employability skills among in-school and out-of-school youth in the Rulindo district.
- Génération Sports Extrêmes (Tunisia): Its Education Hub combines extreme sports, education and personal development to integrate young people into educational pathways, strengthen life skills, and mobilise families and communities to engage in education and sport projects.
- Hout Bay United Football Community (South Africa): Unites the diverse communities of Hout Bay, empowering them through education, work readiness and football. Its programme consists of three interconnected components: the employment hub, educational assistance and elite sport programme.
- I Am Water (South Africa): Facilitates a deep, transformative connection to the ocean for participants through its Ocean Connection methodology. This holistic approach incorporates mental and physical well-being, environmental education, and experiential learning through ocean activities.
- Malaika (Democratic Republic of Congo): Malaika’s community centre offers a wide range of programmes, including literacy, numeracy, IT, vocational and technical training, and sports. The football pitch is Malaika’s central point for community activities, where sports are combined with educational and outreach classes to consolidate what has been learned in the classroom.
- MindLeaps (Rwanda): Its ‘Moving & Learning Together’ programme is designed to utilise dance to develop young people’s social-emotional learning skills, and gain access to quality education within MindLeaps’ and external employment opportunities.
- United Through Sport (South Africa): Uses sport as a tool to transform young people’s lives in the Nelson Mandela Bay area and break the poverty cycle. It delivers multiple programmes following its ‘Pathway to Success’ model that caters to different age groups from 5-35 years old.
