Sacha Robinson
Laureus Sport for Good rolled into Tottenham Hotspur Stadium this week with the swagger of a side that knows it’s changing the world, not just running another conference. Across three packed days, more than 150 grantees, elite athletes, programme leaders and global experts descended on North London to tackle gender equity, coaching for girls, and the power of sport at community level. It was the sixth Global Summit from Laureus and the first big reunion since the pandemic put gatherings like this on ice.
Kely Nascimento — President of the Nascimento Foundation and daughter of Pelé — took the reins as host, her presence instantly lifting the room. When your father is the most iconic footballer in history, you don’t need an introduction; the room knows.
A Straight-Talking Start: Coaching Girls and Closing the Gap
Day one cracked on with purpose. Laureus Sport for Good has never done half measures, and this year’s agenda sharpened its focus on how to turn high-profile athletes into genuine advocates for gender equality. Sessions like “The role of the athlete in inspiring girls” and “The rise of women’s football” steered the conversation with honesty and a refusal to gloss over the work still to be done.
The message was blunt but encouraging: athletes carry influence, and when they use it well, girls’ lives change. Sport isn’t just about medals or matchdays; it’s about confidence, belonging, and possibility.
Local Voices, Global Lessons
The second day saw programmes from every corner of the world take the spotlight. Their stories converged around one theme: place matters. The Laureus Sport for Good Cities initiative — already active in four US cities along with Delhi, London, Hong Kong, and Paris — is quickly becoming a blueprint for how to empower communities from the ground up. It’s not theory; it’s boots-on-the-ground intervention, resource sharing, and real collaboration.
A Star-Studded Turnout
The Summit wasn’t short on star power. Jessica Ennis-Hill, Kosovare Asllani, Molly Bartrip, Babalwa Latsha, Cameron Van der Burgh, Missy Franklin and Nolli Waterman all joined the fold. You didn’t need a spotlight — the athletes provided their own.
Nike’s Leela Strong and AIA’s Amita Chaudhury opened the panel debates, diving straight into the realities of why investing in girls cannot be a passing trend. Their conversation teed up a series of sessions led by Megan Bartlett from the Centre for Healing & Justice Through Sport and Tottenham’s own Shannon Moloney, who unpacked what coaching truly means when you strip away the clichés.
Then came Caitlin Morris of Nike’s Social & Community Impact team, joined by Bloody Good Period, Philippa Diedrichs and Babalwa Latsha. Together they pushed into the uncomfortable but essential territory of body confidence — a subject athletes rarely get to speak about with this much range and honesty.
Ennis-Hill, Jorda and David Raise the Bar
At full throttle, the day delivered a blockbuster panel: Olympic champion Jess Ennis-Hill, motorsport driver Carmen Jorda, and squash titan Nicol David — who held world No.1 for a staggering 108 consecutive months. They unpacked the responsibility elite athletes carry as role models for young girls, offering the kind of insight only serial winners can give.
Later, Kosovare Asllani (AC Milan) and Spurs’ Molly Bartrip closed Wednesday’s session with a strikingly open conversation. Bartrip’s reflections on her mental health challenges drew quiet respect from everyone in the room — real talk from someone who’s lived the pressure.
A Summit That Does More Than Talk
By the final afternoon, one thing was clear: this year’s Laureus Sport for Good Global Summit wasn’t simply another meeting of minds. It was a reminder — sharp and unvarnished — that sport can be one of the most powerful agents for social change when the right people commit to the right work.
Gender equity. Girls’ empowerment. Local leadership. These aren’t buzzwords; they’re the backbone of what comes next.
And Laureus, once again, has set the pace.
To learn more about this remarkable organisation, visit their website.
