Child Rights and Sports Alliance
Author - Centre for Sport and Human Rights
The Child Rights and Sports Alliance in the U.S. formed to elevate the rights and voices of young people to drive community impact in the planning, execution, and legacy of the FIFA World Cup 2026™
Created jointly by Aspen Institute’s Project Play, the Centre for Sport and Human Rights, the National League of Cities, UNICEF USA, and the U.S. Soccer Foundation, the Child Rights & Sports Alliance (CRSA) aims to elevate the rights and voices of young people to drive community impact in the planning, execution, and legacy of the FIFA World Cup 2026™.
Together, this group of partners will provide expertise, resources and collaborative opportunities to cities hosting the World Cup, host committees responsible for planning and executing the event in their cities, and other entities across three pillars:
- Centering the voices and priorities of children and young people in local decision making.
- Advancing opportunities for children to have access to soccer as a vehicle for youth and human development.
- Improving child safeguarding in sport.
The FIFA World Cup 2026™ is the first mega-sporting event in history to incorporate human rights into its bid process, execution, and legacy. This Alliance aims to help cities fulfill the human rights and legacy components focused on children. With the tournament spread across 16 cities in the United States, Canada and Mexico, the event will draw global attention and provide a unique opportunity to elevate children’s rights. Each organization in the Alliance brings special expertise and resources. The CRSA will offer resources and support to host committees to develop child rights strategies that reflect the international standards in their city contexts.
ALLIANCE PARTNERS
Aspen Institute’s Project Play
Aspen Institute’s Project Play – An initiative of the Sports & Society Program of the Aspen Institute, Project Play develops, shares and mobilizes knowledge that helps build healthy communities through sports. Project Play developed the Children’s Bill of Rights in Sports and is continuing to champion children’s rights to and in sports to World Cup, soccer and sports stakeholders through initiatives like 63X30 and the Project Play Summit.
Centre for Sport and Human Rights (CSHR)
The Centre for Sport and Human Rights advances a world of sport that fully respects and promotes human rights by generating awareness, building capacity and delivering impact. The Centre for Sport and Human Rights convenes host cities on human rights, is leading safeguarding efforts through Generation 2026, and is working with select host cities in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada on youth voice, such as the Youth Media Forward initiative.
National League of Cities (NLC)
National League of Cities (NLC) is an organization of city, town, and village leaders that are focused on improving the quality of life for their current and future constituents.The voice of America’s cities, towns and villages - NLC member cities are united in the belief that our nation is strongest when all levels of government work together to protect and advance the priorities of America’s communities and their residents. NLC is working to ensure that in the lead up to and during the year of the World Cup, cities are bringing together key departments/community partners, aligning planning efforts, and leveraging resources inside and outside of government that will benefit all young children, providers, and their families for years to come.
UNICEF USA advances the global mission of UNICEF by rallying the American public to support the world’s most vulnerable children. In support of its vision to build communities for every child, UNICEF USA’s Community Alliance for Child Rights is leading efforts to help host cities to adopt child-centered governance strategies and ensure that children and young people can meaningfully participate in local decision making around World Cup 2026 and beyond.
The U.S. Soccer Foundation is the national leader for sports-based youth development in under-resourced areas and is on a mission to let soccer do what it does: change absolutely everything. The U.S. Soccer Foundation is leading legacy efforts around increasing soccer participation and programs that use the sport as a vehicle for social change.
Alliance Announcements
- Launched at the National League of City’s Annual City Summit in Tampa, Florida
November 2024
The CRSA convened a group of 2026 World Cup host city and committee representatives at the NLC’s 2024 City Summit Conference to gain a better understanding of the specific needs of municipalities in the lead up to the tournament and to begin discussions on planning and support members of the CRSA can provide.
- Panel convened during Aspen Institute’s Project Play Summit
May 2024
Human rights leaders from Houston, Kansas City, and New York New Jersey joined nonprofit leaders from Mexico and Canada at the Aspen Institute’s Project Play Summit 2024, sharing how each community is using the Children’s Bill of Rights in Sports to drive their World Cup legacy. To date, the host committees of New York New Jersey and Guadalajara, as well as the city governments of Houston and Kansas City, have endorsed the principles of the Bill of Rights. Later in the Summit, Baltimore Mayor Brandon M. Scott and Maryland Governor Wes Moore also endorsed the Bill of Rights.
