Top 3 Sport-for-Good Collaborations | Week [50] 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 1,000 kilometre expedition that turns a country into a living classroom, a World Cup host city that treats clinics as part of the legacy rather than an add on, and a retail supported school programme where Olympic athletes sit down with teenagers to talk about mental health, pressure and the weight of expectation.

Here are our top picks for Week [50].

Emirates Foundation and Active Abu Dhabi launch Mesrah Mission

Emirates Foundation and Active Abu Dhabi have launched Mesrah Mission, a 1,000 kilometre youth expedition across the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. One hundred young men and women, representing 35 nationalities, travel together through desert, coast and heritage sites. The journey sits inside the Year of Community 2025 and mixes physical challenge, cultural immersion and service activities along the route.

Participants camp, navigate, cook, share stories and visit historic locations that many residents only know from postcards. They meet community leaders and local families and see first hand how past and present sit next to each other in the places they cross. The partners frame Mesrah Mission as a talent and character journey rather than a one off adventure. The experience may strengthen identity, resilience and pride in place for young people who are likely to become future leaders in different parts of society.

Check the full article here

Los Angeles World Cup 2026 Host Committee and Play Equity Fund grow the game through free clinics

The Los Angeles World Cup 2026 Host Committee, in collaboration with the Play Equity Fund, has launched the Grow the Game of Soccer clinic series. Free sessions across the region aim to reach young players, coaches and referees who rarely feel close to a World Cup, even when matches take place in their own city.

The programme opens at Los Angeles City College and then moves to pitches in a range of neighbourhoods. Local partners such as Cal South and community clubs provide coaches and volunteers. The clinics combine technical work with an approach that treats joy, belonging and respect as core skills. Children meet coaches and role models who understand their context and may feel that the World Cup is not just something that happens on television, but something that touches their own playing field. For the host city, the clinic series shows how major events can seed long term participation and pathways if planning starts early enough.

Check the full article here

Lidl Northern Ireland and Youth Sport Trust connect Olympic athletes with students on mental health

Lidl Northern Ireland and the Youth Sport Trust run the Sport for Good Mental Health Athlete Mentorship programme for secondary schools across the region. Olympians and elite athletes such as Bethany Firth, Rhys McClenaghan, Ciara Mageean and Kerry O’Flaherty spend time in classrooms and sports halls, sharing honest stories about pressure, setbacks and the fragile side of high performance.

Workshops invite students to speak about their own experiences with anxiety, motivation and confidence. The athletes link these conversations to simple tools they use in training and competition, so mental health feels less like an abstract topic and more like a set of habits that can be practised. Each participating school receives new sports equipment, which anchors the programme in visible change on the ground. Since 2019 the collaboration has reached more than 100 secondary schools and thousands of students. Feedback often points to higher confidence, enjoyment of sport and a shift in how teachers frame wellbeing support.

Check the full article here

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If you would like to go deeper, consider downloading the Athlium Impact Playbook. It may give you a practical starting point for setting up purpose driven collaborations and sponsorships that connect business value and impact in a structured way.