SportWORKS

Making a Difference & Becoming Different

SportWORKS Projects

Commonwealth Games Canada has been involved in over 125 sport for development and sport development projects in over 30 countries around the world. Brief summaries of some of these projects are given below which includes: their geographic location, partners involved, and the associated CGC initiative.

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development highlights sport as “an important enabler of sustainable development”. It recognizes the growing contribution of sport to the realization of development and peace in its promotion of tolerance and respect, and the contributions it makes to the empowerment of women and girls, young people, individuals, and communities, as well as to health, education, gender equality and social inclusion objectives. Thanks to the generous support of the Government and Canada and our other donors, CGC is proud to be one of the world’s pioneers of international sport for development and sport development work.

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Community Football Club Development

  • Caribbean & Americas
  • Barbados
  • Caribbean & Americas
  • Trinidad and Tobago
Partners: Bagatelle Football Club, Barbados Football Association, Fyzabad United Football Club, Southend Football Club, Women’s Football League
Initiative: Sport Leaders Abroad Program

To help further grow community football clubs in Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago, CGC conducted workshops on: developing club structures, volunteer management, coaching, and long term athlete development. Strategy sessions were also held with clubs to help develop their brands and create fundraising and sponsorship opportunities.

Community Multi-Sport Club Development

  • Caribbean & Americas
  • St. Vincent and the Grenadines
Partners: Brock University, St. Vincent & the Grenadines Olympic Committee (SVGOC)
Initiative: Queen Elizabeth Scholars Program

CGC assisted SVGOC in further establishing community, multi-sport clubs in different regions of the country. These clubs collaborate with schools in their communities providing access to sport, while promoting the benefits of education and literacy to students. The work included developing a national sports database, surveying community and club needs, providing support material to help improve governance structures, as well as assisting with fundraising.

Community Schools Physical Education and HIV/AIDS Curriculum Development

  • Africa
  • Zambia
Partners: Zambia Open Community Schools (ZOCS)
Initiative: Canadian Sport Leadership Corps

Working in partnership with teachers and volunteers at three Zambian Open Community Schools, CGC helped develop physical education curriculum that incorporated HIV/AIDS education for orphans, vulnerable, and HIV positive children. Material from the Kicking AIDS Out (KAO) project was also delivered throughout the schools.

Community Sport Development

  • Africa
  • Zimbabwe
Partners: Andy Cole Foundation (later known as All Star Kids)
Initiative: Commonwealth Sport Development Program

CGC managed the co-funding and delivery of a series of soccer coaching clinics in the high-density areas in Harare. A soccer league consisting of six boys and six girls teams was subsequently created, which incorporated AIDS awareness and tree planting activities. Andy Cole, the popular Manchester United soccer celebrity became a patron of the program.

Empowering Girls through Sport

  • Asia
  • India
Partners: Yuwa
Initiative: Sport Leaders Abroad Program

Founded in 2009 and operated in Jharkhand, one of the poorest, least literate, and most lawless regions of India, Yuwa uses girls’ team sports as a platform for social development in rural India, and is now one of the largest girls’ 42 projects 43 projects football programs in the country. Alongside sport development, Yuwa teaches life skills, with a focus on positive coaching. CGC has assisted Yuwa with competitive coaching techniques.

Females Leading Achieving Motivating Empowering (FLAME)

  • Africa
  • Namibia
Partners: Physically Active Youth (PAY) Namibia, Sports Coaches’ Outreach (SCORE) Namibia
Initiative: Canadian Sport Leadership Corps

CGC led the development of a girls’ empowerment through sport program which included: sports, leadership development, team building, health awareness training, mentoring, tutoring, book clubs, and social events. As part of this project, participants gave back to the community through volunteering at local orphanages.

Game On!

  • Caribbean & Americas
  • Trinidad and Tobago
Partners: International Alliance for Youth Sport (IAYS), Trinidad & Tobago Alliance for Sport and Physical Education (TTASPE, now known as the Caribbean Sport and Development Agency (CSDA))
Initiative: Canadian Sport Leadership Corps

Game On! is a mass participation program which provides regular sport and physical activity for primary school-aged children. It was developed by the International Alliance for Youth Sport (IAYS) and coordinated by TTASPE. Game On! uses a sport for all philosophy that starts with the development of fundamental motor skills and then moves to the introduction of modified sport in a fun and child-centered approach.

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CGC provided volunteers to support the program, one of whom subsequently became a full time member of TTASPE.

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Gender Action Plan Development

  • Africa
  • South Africa
  • Africa
  • Swaziland
Partners: Confederation of Southern Africa National Olympic Committees (COSANOC), Norwegian Olympic and Paralympic Committee and Confederation of Sports (NIF), Swaziland Olympic and Commonwealth Games Association (SOCGA)
Initiative: Sport Leaders Abroad Program

CGC contributed to, and helped facilitate, the development of the Confederation of Southern Africa National Olympic Committee’s (COSANOC) Gender Action Plan. This involved helping to identify areas of focus, formulating an action plan, and developing a process to aid the creation of country-specific plans. 

Girls on the Move (GOTM)

  • Africa
  • Lesotho
Partners: Lesotho National Olympic Committee (LNOC)
Initiative: Canadian Sport Leadership Corps

Girls On The Move focuses on increasing young women’s participation in sport, as well as providing education on social issues facing Basotho women. Girls are exposed to a new sport activity and healthy lifestyle workshops each week for two months, then given the opportunity to choose a sport to participate in free of charge for a year. Many young women have graduated into the National Federation development program, some of whom have gone on to make national teams.

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CGC supported GOTM’s planning and implementation.

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Girls’ Empowerment through Sport

  • Africa
  • Tanzania
Partners: EMIMA (Elimu Michezo na Mazoezi- Education, Sport and Physical Activity Promotion)
Initiative: Canadian Sport Leadership Corps

CGC helped strengthen EMIMA’s girls’ empowerment through sport program which helped to fight gender inequality and empower girls. It provided participants with opportunities to develop leadership and life skills, access peer-led health education focused on HIV/AIDS and reproductive health, and participate actively in the development of their communities.