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Playing for the goals: advancing inclusion through the United Nations Football for the Goals Initiative
UN
2026.06.17
- As the world’s most popular sport, football (soccer) has demonstrated a capacity to reach diverse populations across cultures, generations, and borders, positioning it as a uniquely powerful platform for advocacy and engagement. The United Nations Football for the Goals (FFTG) initiative invites football organizations―operating across civil society, football governance, clubs, and the private sector―to translate this potential into measurable action aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), by ensuring that their operational and engagement strategies advance sustainable development and social justice.

- Analysis of data from the FFTG 2024 annual reporting process demonstrates a particularly strong alignment of FFTG initiatives with the social dimension of the SDGs, with FFTG members most often reporting efforts aligned with SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities), SDG 17 (Partnerships for the Goals), SDG 4 (Quality Education), SDG 5 (Gen-der Equality) and SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being), reflecting a strong focus on social inclusion, human well-being and partnerships. Examples of initiatives from FFTG members further highlight how football-driven initiatives, when tailored properly, can improve the lives of people and their communities, with particular benefit to communities and population groups most often left behind.

- Drawing from this evidence, this policy brief translates the FFTG 2024 annual reporting data into actionable policy-related insights to support governments, foot-ball organizations, and other stakeholders to leverage football as a strategic partner in achieving the SDGs by 2030, and to integrate sport, more broadly, into sustain-able development strategies.