LIV Golf signs partnership with United Nations Refugee Agency to provide Sport For Protection programs for refugees
LIV Golf will help provide access to sport for refugees and forcibly displaced people in some of the world’s most vulnerable communities, as part of a three-year partnership just signed with the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR).
FULL PRESS RELEASE: UN Refugee Agency partners with LIV Golf for its first-ever partnership in golf
We will commit $10 million of funding to a partnership with UNHCR, which will be channeled into Sport for Protection programs with the principal aim of positively impacting up to 1 million forcibly displaced people.
The programming will include:
Increasing the number of sport programs available to forcibly displaced people living in refugee camps, settlements, urban areas, and host communities, as well as introduce for the first time golf based activities with the aim of improving psychosocial wellbeing and social cohesion.
Creating safe spaces in displaced and host communities for people of all ages, genders and abilities to engage in sport.
Supporting the provision of sports equipment and the rehabilitation of sports facilities.
Demonstrating how the values of golf can support a positive educational outcome
The UNHCR is already working to introduce Sport for Protection programs around the world, building on the incredible success of the refugee Olympic team. However this is the first time they have partnered with a golf organization.
Why we have agreed this partnership
We have long talked about making golf a global game. One that thrives in new areas and welcomes people of all ages and backgrounds.
But this isn’t enough. We want to use our profile to impact communities in all parts of the world, even those that don’t have a single golf course. We believe sport is more than just a chance for pleasure and excitement; it’s a chance for inclusion and protection too. Through Potential Unleashed, our flagship Impact & Sustainability Strategy, we have already begun making inroads.
Now, we want to ramp up our efforts. And with the United Nations Refugee Agency, we have found the perfect partner.
The Agency was founded in 1950 to help the millions of Europeans displaced during World War II, and now supports over 122 million people who have had to flee their homes due to conflict and persecution worldwide. Its aims include:
Delivering life-saving assistance like shelter, food and water.
Helping to safeguard fundamental human rights.
Work to ensure that stateless people are granted a nationality.
The Agency’s recent projects range from a vast, international primary education drive to the provision of cash-based assistance in countries such as Iraq, Mexico and Egypt. And as sport’s global profile rises, through the brilliance of its teams and individuals, so its role in the UNHCR increases too.
In 2022, UNHCR introduced its own sport strategy entitled More Than A Game, whose aims include increasing sport and play-based activities; using the global profile of sport to raise awareness of refugee issues; and ensuring that refugees with elite sporting talent can fulfil their potential. The Agency itself says that sport has a “unique capacity… to actively and meaningfully engage young people”, and can play “a pivotal role in creating a fun and safe environment.”
This ambition matches ours, perfectly.
‘A force for change’
Speaking about the new partnership, our Commissioner and CEO Greg Norman said LIV Golf is committed to “utilizing the game of golf as a force for positive change”, adding:
“Our players, our teams and our league are dedicated to making the game of golf more inclusive and leveraging our wonderful sport to uplift individuals and communities while expanding their educational outcomes. This is a significant step to broadening that reach and impact across the world.”
Indeed, this is a transformative announcement for our League. You may have read our recent Impact Report, documenting the progress made by Potential Unleashed and each of our 13 teams on a range of programs, ranging from Majesticks’ Little Sticks education program to Iron Heads’ protection of municipal golf courses.
Now, we are crossing the ropes. By partnering with UNHCR, we are going outside golf’s traditional boundaries to directly impact some of the world’s most at-risk and disadvantaged people.
We’re already building the global game of golf. Now, we start work on something even more impactful.
For more information on Potential Unleashed, click here.