{"id":6405,"date":"2026-06-25T12:36:24","date_gmt":"2026-06-25T12:36:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gng.org\/?p=6405"},"modified":"2026-06-29T14:22:59","modified_gmt":"2026-06-29T14:22:59","slug":"young-people-sports-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gng.org\/ar\/2026\/06\/25\/young-people-sports-change\/","title":{"rendered":"How Young People Can Use Sports to Drive Social Change"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"6405\" class=\"elementor elementor-6405\" data-elementor-post-type=\"post\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-427cbdeb e-flex e-con-boxed e-con e-parent\" data-id=\"427cbdeb\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"e-con-inner\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-65e3f16d elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"65e3f16d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fifa.com\/en\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2026 FIFA World Cup<\/a><\/strong> is underway, with matches taking place across Canada, Mexico, and the United States \u2013 the first time in history the tournament has been hosted across three countries. As global attention turns to the competition, it is also a reminder that sports do not exist apart from the wider social issues shaping our world.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sports are often called the great equalizer, a space where talent matters more than where you&#8217;re from. But the reality is more complicated. The same issues we see across society, including racism, gender inequality, disability representation, and unequal access, also show up in sport.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">That\u2019s because sports are a microcosm of society. The systems that exclude people elsewhere do not disappear just because someone is wearing a jersey.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So what does that mean for young people who love sports and want them to live up to their promise?<\/span><\/p><h3><span style=\"color: #331b6a;\"><b>What Sports Actually Shows Us<\/b><\/span><\/h3><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Suday is a youth designer in our <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/gng.org\/ar\/courses\/sports\/\">sports course<\/a><\/strong>. He said something that resonates: &#8220;Everyone says &#8216;if the world was like sports, we&#8217;d be better off.&#8217; But that&#8217;s not true. Sports have all the same injustices as society does.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-711ae11 elementor-widget elementor-widget-video\" data-id=\"711ae11\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;video_type&quot;:&quot;vimeo&quot;,&quot;start&quot;:856}\" data-widget_type=\"video.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-wrapper elementor-open-inline\">\n\t\t\t<iframe class=\"elementor-video-iframe\" allowfullscreen allow=\"clipboard-write\" title=\"vimeo Video Player\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/622590826?color&amp;autopause=0&amp;loop=0&amp;muted=0&amp;title=1&amp;portrait=1&amp;byline=1&amp;h=27b73028da#t=00h14m16s\"><\/iframe>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f8d5291 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"f8d5291\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">He\u2019s right. Sports can bring people together. It&#8217;s good for your body and your mind, but it can also surface inequality, racism, unhealthy competition and exclude certain groups of people.<\/span><\/p><h3><span style=\"color: #331b6a;\"><b>What Young People Are Actually Doing About It<\/b><\/span><\/h3><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our youth designer asked other young athletes from all over the world how they fight back against bias in their community.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-01ded39 elementor-widget elementor-widget-video\" data-id=\"01ded39\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;video_type&quot;:&quot;vimeo&quot;,&quot;start&quot;:525}\" data-widget_type=\"video.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-wrapper elementor-open-inline\">\n\t\t\t<iframe class=\"elementor-video-iframe\" allowfullscreen allow=\"clipboard-write\" title=\"vimeo Video Player\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/622591613?color&amp;autopause=0&amp;loop=0&amp;muted=0&amp;title=1&amp;portrait=1&amp;byline=1&amp;h=ee2fe35154#t=00h08m45s\"><\/iframe>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-bcff154 e-grid e-con-full e-con e-child\" data-id=\"bcff154\" data-element_type=\"container\" data-e-type=\"container\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-fac91fe elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"fac91fe\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><b>Julius<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, United States<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Julius reads about racial injustice. He talks about it. He creates spaces where people can actually have those hard conversations without shutting down.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9375df8 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"9375df8\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><b>Maha<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Jordan<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Maha doesn&#8217;t let the barriers stop her. She works hard. She puts videos on social media of women playing, practicing, competing.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0737ecf elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"0737ecf\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><b>Michaela<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, United States<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Michaela talks to her teammates. She tells them it&#8217;s okay to care about school and sports. When someone doesn&#8217;t understand, she explains it to them.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-6013a4e elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"6013a4e\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><b>Jake<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Mexico, Ecuador, United States<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jake recognizes that sports can bring people together but we have to recognize our differences and actually get to know people. Sports gives young people a real shot at education and opportunity.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-a587196 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"a587196\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3><span style=\"color: #331b6a;\"><b>Creating Change In Your Community<\/b><\/span><\/h3><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Our <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/gng.org\/ar\/courses\/sports\/\">Sport Course<\/a><\/strong> explores the meaning of sports in local communities, the opportunities and costs of participating in sports, as well as how access, resources, and opportunities differ for athletes due to different circumstances and conditions.<\/span><\/p><p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Learn what you can do today to start making a change in your community.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-15c7cce elementor-widget elementor-widget-video\" data-id=\"15c7cce\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;video_type&quot;:&quot;vimeo&quot;,&quot;start&quot;:16}\" data-widget_type=\"video.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-wrapper elementor-open-inline\">\n\t\t\t<iframe class=\"elementor-video-iframe\" allowfullscreen allow=\"clipboard-write\" title=\"vimeo Video Player\" src=\"https:\/\/player.vimeo.com\/video\/622592270?color&amp;autopause=0&amp;loop=0&amp;muted=0&amp;title=1&amp;portrait=1&amp;byline=1&amp;h=8413e6c545#t=00h00m16s\"><\/iframe>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-d19368c elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"d19368c\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-e-type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/gng.org\/ar\/\">Global Nomads<\/a><\/strong> uses the power of storytelling to promote empathy and bring social topics to life through day-to-day realities. Participating youth read authentic, impactful stories from youth participants around the world that reveal deep truths about global issues, then enhance the conversation by sharing their own stories.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The 2026 FIFA World Cup is underway, with matches taking place across Canada, Mexico, and the United States \u2013 the first time in history the tournament has been hosted across three countries. As global attention turns to the competition, it is also a reminder that sports do not exist apart from the wider social issues [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":6429,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"content-type":"","pagelayer_contact_templates":[],"_pagelayer_content":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[24,16,18],"class_list":["post-6405","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blog","tag-blog","tag-educators","tag-youth"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/gng.org\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6405","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/gng.org\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/gng.org\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gng.org\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gng.org\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6405"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/gng.org\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6405\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6435,"href":"https:\/\/gng.org\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6405\/revisions\/6435"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gng.org\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6429"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/gng.org\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6405"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gng.org\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6405"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/gng.org\/ar\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6405"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}