Sport for Development: Africa

UNICEF is supporting programmes across Africa that reach children through sport. Sport can help children to gain confidence and self esteem, to recover from trauma and to integrate with their peers.

Liberia: Boys play football at a UNICEF-assisted centre for internally displaced children, in Monrovia, the capital. The children are playing in a tournament featuring matches between children from several camps for internally displaced persons.

Chad: Boys play football with a ball provided by UNICEF as part of recreational supplies for children in the Kounoungo camp for Sudanese refugees, near the eastern town of Guereda.

Senegal: A girl practices karate with other students at the Centre de Sauvegarde, a child protection centre in Dakar region. The UNICEF-supported centre provides education and training for more than 2,000 children, including some who have been in conflict with the law.

Zambia: Girls play football at Muwangani School in the district of Mansa in Luapula Province. Sports help bolster self-esteem, teach interpersonal skills and challenge gender stereotypes.

Malawi: Mary, 16, plays netball with classmates at the Ndirande Hill Primary School, Blantyre. She looks after her two sisters after losing her parents because of AIDS. Sports participation provides a safe and supportive space where young people can feel a sense of belonging and be protected from exploitation.

Zimbabwe: Boys play cricket at the UNICEF-supported Mavambo Learning and Education Centre on the outskirts of Harare. The centre provides orphans and vulnerable children, who would otherwise have no access to basic education, a safe place to learn and play.

South Africa: An under-13 youth league cricket match. UNICEF is working with sports organisations, such as the international football association FIFA and the athlete-driven humanitarian group Right to Play, to bring the power of sports and other forms of organised play to children.

Côte d'Ivoire: Boys play football on the grounds of a primary school in the village of Béoué, in the government-controlled zone, near the western town of Man. Some of them are former child soldiers participating in a UNICEF-supported demobilisation and reintegration programme.

Rwanda: Solange, 15, who has a disability, plays volleyball with other adolescents at Umubano II Primary School. Sport is an effective way to reach children and adolescents who are often excluded and discriminated against, including children with mental and physical difficulties.

Liberia: Boys play football at a UNICEF-assisted centre for internally displaced children, in Monrovia, the capital. The children are playing in a tournament featuring matches between children from several camps for internally displaced persons.
© UNICEF/NYHQ2004-0059/Nesbitt

Chad: Boys play football with a ball provided by UNICEF as part of recreational supplies for children in the Kounoungo camp for Sudanese refugees, near the eastern town of Guereda.
© UNICEF/NYHQ2004-0406/Nesbitt

Senegal: A girl practices karate with other students at the Centre de Sauvegarde, a child protection centre in Dakar region. The UNICEF-supported centre provides education and training for more than 2,000 children, including some who have been in conflict with the law.
© UNICEF/NYHQ2004-0457/Nesbitt

Zambia: Girls play football at Muwangani School in the district of Mansa in Luapula Province. Sports help bolster self-esteem, teach interpersonal skills and challenge gender stereotypes.
© UNICEF/NYHQ2004-0847/d'Elbee

Malawi: Mary, 16, plays netball with classmates at the Ndirande Hill Primary School, Blantyre. She looks after her two sisters after losing her parents because of AIDS. Sports participation provides a safe and supportive space where young people can feel a sense of belonging and be protected from exploitation.
© UNICEF/NYHQ2005-1387/Nesbitt

Zimbabwe: Boys play cricket at the UNICEF-supported Mavambo Learning and Education Centre on the outskirts of Harare. The centre provides orphans and vulnerable children, who would otherwise have no access to basic education, a safe place to learn and play.
© UNICEF/NYHQ2006-0458/Pirozzi

South Africa: An under-13 youth league cricket match. UNICEF is working with sports organisations, such as the international football association FIFA and the athlete-driven humanitarian group Right to Play, to bring the power of sports and other forms of organised play to children.
© UNICEF/NYHQ2007-0146/Nesbitt

Côte d'Ivoire: Boys play football on the grounds of a primary school in the village of Béoué, in the government-controlled zone, near the western town of Man. Some of them are former child soldiers participating in a UNICEF-supported demobilisation and reintegration programme.
© UNICEF/NYHQ2006-2802/Brioni

Rwanda: Solange, 15, who has a disability, plays volleyball with other adolescents at Umubano II Primary School. Sport is an effective way to reach children and adolescents who are often excluded and discriminated against, including children with mental and physical difficulties.
© UNICEF/NYHQ2007-1357/Pirozzi