April 6th marks the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, and this year’s theme—’Leveling the Playing Field: Sport for Social Inclusion’ – resonates deeply with us at Sport 4 Life UK (S4L). As a charity dedicated to changing young lives through the power of sport, we see firsthand how sport is far more than just a game; it is a vehicle for opportunity, growth, and transformation.

In 2024 alone, S4L delivered over 5,000 hours of sport, training, and mentoring support. We helped 1,206 young people develop key life skills and 1,552 improve their employability skills, with 82% reporting increased mental health and wellbeing. These numbers reflect more than just outcomes; they represent young lives empowered, confidence built, and futures reshaped.

But who better to comment than our very own Sports Trainer, Rhys Gordon, who works directly with our young people, delivering and overseeing our sports offer and sessions, and witnessing the impact on the ground, every day. As he puts it:

“Our sports sessions firstly provide a safe environment for our young people to have fun and socialise. This in itself improves young people’s emotions, gives them a sense of belonging, and creates a more conducive platform for learning and development. Then we can start to build key life skills through the sports delivery – communication, teamwork, resilience, confidence, respect, and much more. It’s an incredibly powerful tool to teach some of these important human and transferable skills.”

And from the perspective of one of our beneficiaries directly, 25 year old Callum engaged in various sports sessions including karate, boxing and gym workouts – which not only improved his physical health but also expanded his social circle, providing much-needed camaraderie. Combining this with mentoring support, Callum was able to secure a security job with G4S. Reflecting on his journey, Callum said:

“Thanks to sports sessions and mentoring from Sport 4 Life, I accomplished more in 2 months than I did in 2 years. It was my lifeline and I found myself again.”

Sport provides an inclusive space where barriers—whether social, economic, or personal—can be broken down. It allows young people to find their voice, connect with others, and gain skills that prepare them for a brighter future.

And for us, sport is part of the pathway that allows young people to engage in many other – including non-sport – services. They can gain qualifications, receive targeted one-to-one mentoring, as well as access social action projects and other personal development workshops. You can find out more about our activities and services at: www.sport4life.org.uk 

It’s also the shared passion and sector that brings us together with our impact partners, where we work with game-changing organisations who are supporting young people, providing them with valuable capacity building support so they can grow and develop. You can find out more about this at https://sport4life.org.uk/work-with-us/partnerships/impact-partnerships/. 

As we celebrate this important day, we reaffirm our commitment to ensuring that every young person, regardless of background, has access to the transformative power of sport. Together, we can continue to level the playing field and build a more inclusive society through sport.

#IDSDP2025