Top 3 Sport-for-Good Collaborations | Week [49] by Athlium

Each week, Athlium spotlights three collaborations that showcase how sport drives social and environmental change across the globe.

This edition brings together a global airline and a football legend who open up elite events to young people who rarely get near them, an Australian football club and a family led charity who turn grief into a movement for better cancer outcomes, and a local ecosystem in Bradford that proves what happens when clubs, health agencies and sport bodies pull in the same direction for active families.

Here are our top picks for Week [49].

Qatar Airways and Rio Ferdinand introduce "Qatar Airways United" youth empowerment initiative

Qatar Airways and Rio Ferdinand have created "Qatar Airways United", a youth empowerment initiative that brings young people from under resourced backgrounds into the heart of major sport events. The first activation took place at the Milan Derby at San Siro. Visually impaired children connected to Inter partner Real Eyes Sport spent the day inside one of football's most intense fixtures, met players and felt the noise and rhythm of the stadium from pitch side rather than from a sofa at home.

The concept does not stop in Milan. The programme now lines up future experiences at the Formula 1 Qatar Airways Grand Prix with children supported by Education Above All, as well as future activations around Paris Saint Germain home games, the UEFA Champions League Final and the FIFA World Cup 26 Final in New York. Taken together, these touchpoints turn a sponsorship portfolio into a travelling classroom for confidence, curiosity and ambition. For the young people involved, the memory of being seen and welcomed at these stages may stay long after the final whistle.

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Dare to Hope recognised as Hawthorn's Official Charity Partner on World Pancreatic Cancer Day

On World Pancreatic Cancer Day, Hawthorn Football Club confirmed Dare to Hope as its Official Charity Partner and placed pancreatic cancer at the centre of its storytelling. Dare to Hope was founded in memory of Paul Dear, a Hawthorn premiership player who died from the disease in 2022. The collaboration connects the raw emotion of that loss with the platform of an AFL club that reaches thousands of supporters every weekend.

The partnership already includes the annual Dare to Hope Match, where the club uses game day to raise funds and awareness for pancreatic cancer research. New elements such as the Light of Hope sunset vigil add a quieter, more reflective space where families, former teammates and fans gather to remember loved ones and support each other. In a landscape where pancreatic cancer often receives little attention despite poor survival rates, Hawthorn and Dare to Hope create a focused, human campaign that ties the club's past heroes to a more hopeful future for patients.

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JU:MP grows an active families ecosystem with Bradford City FC Foundation, British Triathlon and partners

JU:MP (Join Us: Move. Play.) is a whole system approach in Bradford that aims to help children and families build more movement into everyday life. The latest programme update describes how collaboration keeps deepening. Bradford City FC Community Foundation, British Triathlon, StreetGames, Living Well and a new Swim Bike Run Connector role combine their strengths to design activities with families, not just for them.

In practice this may mean local festivals where football, cycling and running sit alongside food, music and culture. It also includes school and neighbourhood projects that bring in children with special educational needs rather than placing them on the sidelines. Previous evaluation showed some of the strongest gains in children's physical activity that researchers had seen, along with neglected spaces transformed into nature play areas. The November update suggests those gains are not a one off. JU:MP's network of clubs, health partners and community organisations now feels like a living example of how a city could treat physical inactivity as a shared responsibility rather than a single agency task.

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