This paper examines the empowerment impacts of soccer peer-coaches in a sport-for-development program across community and school settings in rural India. Using Self-Efficacy Theory and action research, the study draws on qualitative data from observations, focus group observations and semi-structured interviews with soccer peer-coaches, teachers and community leaders from diverse backgrounds, including Adivasi participants from historically marginalized low-order groups. Through a micro-level analysis, the findings reveal how inter-caste social dynamics can inhibit empowerment for low-order groups, even when programs provide access to knowledge and resources. This study demonstrates that, beyond knowledge, resources and expertise, supportive environments for inclusive relationships are critical in enabling individuals to influence change. A comparative reading of community and school contexts suggests that school-based settings may offer more conducive environments for navigating entrenched cultural hierarchies. This paper contributes to the sport-for-development literature by underscoring the importance of context-sensitive program design and the need to foster enabling ecosystems that address structural inequalities. These insights have practical implications for designing more inclusive and effective sport-for-development initiatives in culturally diverse settings.

This scoping review addresses the question: “What academic literature exists on Sport-for-Development (SFD) programs for Māori in Aotearoa New Zealand, and what themes can be extrapolated from this scholarship?” Indeed, the aim was to identify key themes within literature to inform practice, policy, and future research implications. Guided by Arksey and O’Malley’s (2005) framework, this review applies a Kaupapa Māori Theory (KMT) lens using the Ngā Poutama Whetū (NPW) analytical process, therefore centering Māori values in the synthesis and interpretation of SFD evidence. This ensures that kaupapa Māori aspirations remain central to the interpretation of the evidence. Searches conducted in Scopus, SocINDEX and SPORTDiscus, identified 17 relevant peer-reviewed articles published from 2007 to 2023. Thematic analysis identified three interconnected themes: cultural revitalization and identity, challenges and barriers, and holistic wellbeing, and community engagement. Across the literature corpus, SFD initiatives worked best when grounded in Kaupapa Māori, led by Māori, and structured by relationships that prioritized cultural safety, wellbeing and community-focused outcomes. In contrast, inconsistent governance, cultural misalignment, and systemic barriers continued to constrain Māori participation and self-determination in sport. This review contributes to sustained, Māori-led SFD approaches, identifies key research gaps and highlights NPW’s methodological contribution to strengthen Māori cultural identity.

Girls often face barriers to meaningful sport participation, especially within men-dominated sports. Increasing inclusive sport spaces for girls is crucial for fostering enjoyment in sport. Canadian Girls Baseball is a women-led organization that offers girls-only programming and intentional leadership opportunities to encourage girls’ retention in sport. The study purpose was to explore participants’ experiences of gender within this context. Twenty-four participants (17 youth, 7 junior coaches) completed a personal meaning map and engaged in a focus group. Two themes were created: (a) gendered realities in baseball and (b) gender-inclusive sport spaces for social and personal growth. Within theme one, participants articulated exposure to women mentors and girl-identifying peers encouraged their sustained involvement in baseball and facilitated positive shifts in baseball culture, which was meaningful given previous negative experiences in men-dominated baseball spaces. Within theme two, participants outlined that being in this girls-only environment fostered connection between peers and coaches, promoting a psychologically safe atmosphere, comfort, and authentic expression. The inclusive environment fostered empowerment and personal growth. Findings extend understanding of how girls-only sport spaces can reduce gendered barriers, promote inclusion, mentorship, and meaningful participation.

This article examines grassroots skateboarding initiatives in Morocco to explore how locally embedded sport communities contribute to rethinking knowledge production and power relations within the Sport for Development and Peace (SDP) field. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork within a local informal skateboarding community organization, the study analyzes how grassroots actors navigate material constraints, spatial governance, institutional dynamics, and gendered participation through locally situated practices. The findings show that many outcomes commonly attributed to SDP programs – such as youth engagement, community building, and inclusive participation – are already produced through informal, community-driven sports initiatives. By centering these practices, the article challenges dominant SDP approaches that privilege formal organizations and externally designed interventions. Through postcolonial and Orientalist critiques, it argues that grassroots initiatives generate situated knowledge that disrupts deficit-based representations of Global South communities while revealing the broader power structures shaping sports and development. At the same time, the study highlights the ambivalent positioning of grassroots actors within processes of “inclusive neoliberalism,” where local agency both navigates and reproduces global inequalities. The article concludes by advocating for a reorientation of SDP research and practice toward grassroots knowledge, context-sensitive engagement, and non-interventionist forms of transnational support.

Routine monitoring data are an underused but important source of insight into large-scale, real-world program implementation. Three years into implementing its mental health programme called MindSKILLZ, Grassroot Soccer, an adolescent health organization, initiated a multi-country analysis of its routine monitoring data to: 1) examine MindSKILLZ effects overall, by mental health construct, country, delivery method, and participant characteristics; and 2) gather feedback from experts and youth on the MindSKILLZ pre-post questionnaire to improve its design. Pre-post questionnaire data from 2,286 participants in Kenya, Zambia, and Zimbabwe were analyzed. Results demonstrate statistically significant improvements across countries. Program participants showed substantial gains in stigma reduction (+44.8%), help-seeking (+43.6%), and mental health knowledge (+34.2%). Clinically meaningful improvements in mental well-being were observed in Zimbabwe (+16 points), alongside positive change in Zambia (+6 points). Feedback from experts and youth highlighted challenges with the pre-post questionnaire (e.g., youth comprehension), prompting pre-post tool revisions. Findings demonstrate the value of routine monitoring data for identifying trends in program outcomes and guiding ongoing program improvement. Research studies are needed to establish causal impacts of programming.