Eliminating poverty means ensuring that everyone has access to sufficient resources to meet their subsistence needs as well as combating poverty’s multifaceted consequences: hunger and malnutrition, discrimination and social exclusion, limited access to basic services such as education. Remarkable progress has been made since the 2000s with a 50% reduction in the extreme poverty rate. Building sustainable, shared economic growth and robust social protection systems are key concerns for improving the situation in the poorest areas.

How can sport address this issue?

Sport can be a strong driver in the fight against poverty. As a rapidly-growing sector, it promotes the development of local economies and the creation of local jobs that are decent and unlikely to be relocated.

Because it conveys the values of respect, tolerance, sharing and self-betterment, sport fosters social cohesion and the inclusion of excluded and vulnerable populations. It helps combat discrimination, supports women’s empowerment and facilitates access to quality education. Sport is therefore an agile, flexible tool for addressing the complex and multidimensional causes and consequences of poverty.

Project related to Goal 01

Education and bouncing back through sport in Koudougou

The Boomerang project through sport aims to educate, supervise and empower underprivileged youth in Koudougou, Burkina Faso, by combining sport, studies and vocational training to build life paths out of poverty.

Find out more about this project