A sports coaching programme in Kenya is creating opportunities for refugee and host-community youth to participate in sport while developing life skills and pathways towards education, employment and high-performance sport.
The Sports Coach programme is a partnership between the Olympic Refuge Foundation (ORF) and the Kenya Red Cross Society. It aims to provide safe and structured sporting opportunities while strengthening the support systems around young people affected by displacement.
The programme is not focused solely on identifying elite athletes. It uses sport as a platform to build confidence, promote wellbeing and strengthen relationships between refugee and host communities.
Through regular sporting activities, young people can develop skills that extend beyond competition, including teamwork, discipline and confidence. The programme also seeks to give participants a stronger sense of belonging and purpose within their communities.
A major component is strengthening coaches and community structures so they can provide safer and more supportive environments for young people. The wider Sport Coach+ approach developed through an ORF and Red Cross Red Crescent partnership equips coaches with skills to understand how stressful experiences can affect young people and how to create supportive sporting environments.
The initiative builds on previous sport-based programmes supported by ORF in Kenya. In Kakuma and Kalobeyei, the Play2Protect programme used sports clubs, life-skills sessions and competitions to bring together refugee and host-community students.
The programme operated across 14 schools and included athletics and ball games, while students with disabilities were also encouraged to participate. Its stated aim included promoting cohesion and inclusion among young people.
A separate UNFPA evaluation of Play2Protect said the project, implemented from 2020 to 2024 with ORF funding, sought to strengthen young people's self-efficacy and psychosocial wellbeing through sport while training coaches and providing life-skills support.
The current Sports Coach programme also comes as Kenya continues to play a role in creating high-level opportunities for refugee athletes. Six refugee athletes are preparing to compete at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, with their preparations including a training camp in Kenya.
For Sports Coach, however, progression to elite competition is only one possible outcome. The broader objective is to ensure young people can benefit from sport whether or not they ultimately pursue competitive careers.
By strengthening coaches and community structures, the programme aims to expand access to sport while creating pathways through which talented participants can progress from grassroots activity towards national and international opportunities.
The initiative ultimately seeks to ensure that refugee young people are recognised not only through the challenges associated with displacement, but also through their talents, ambitions and contributions to their communities.
The focus going forward will be on strengthening sustainable sporting opportunities and support structures for refugee and host-community youth in Kenya.
