The winners of ISCA’s Integration of Refugees through Sport (IRTS) Awards have now been announced. Held on the opening day of the MOVE Congress, the October 29 ceremony honoured three exceptional organisations and one outstanding role model who are all leading the way in refugee integration through sport.

Individuals in the role model category and representatives of the shortlisted organisations travelled from across the world to attend the event after been selected from 99 exceptional candidates.

Jury members from leading grassroots sports organisations made the final selection in three of the categories. The winner of the fourth category, the Role Model Award, was chosen through a public vote. All shortlisted nominees received a trip to Copenhagen to take part in the MOVE Congress, and each winner received a cash prize of €3,000.

Category 1: IRTS & Community Winner: Sanctuary Runners – Ireland

Shortlist: Cheza – Uganda; Fédération Sportive et Gymnique du Travail (FSGT) – France

Founded in Cork in 2018, Sanctuary Runners is a movement that uses running, jogging, walking, and occasionally swimming to bring together asylum seekers, refugees, migrants, and local residents on an equal footing. Although the group describes itself as non-political, its work has gone a long way towards easing recent political tensions in the Republic of Ireland.

Today, the organisation coordinates around 40 local groups across Ireland, drawing thousands of participants and demonstrating how sport can be a powerful platform for community integration, improving health, and reducing isolation and cultural divides. By enabling refugees to run, walk, and get active alongside local residents, Sanctuary Runners is reshaping the narrative around migration, sport, and belonging. Its core message of integration together with its ability to create real change, make Sanctuary Runners an outstanding organisation highly worthy of recognition.

https://sanctuaryrunners.ie/

Category 2: IRTS & Mental Health Winner: Palestine: Sports for Life (PS4L) – Palestine

Shortlist: Community Support Center (CSc‑Asbl) – Democratic Republic of Congo; Fundación de las Américas para el Desarrollo, Partners of the Americas – Ecuador

Active across the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and until recently the Gaza Strip, Palestine: Sports for Life (PS4L) uses sport for development (S4D) as a tool for individual and community empowerment. Working in one of the most challenging locations in the world, its mission is to engage the Palestinian community through sport, enrich lives, and help individuals achieve their goals. PS4L’s activities go beyond organising sports activities – it is creating safe environments for children, young people, and women in communities deeply affected by conflict. By placing a strong focus on the empowerment of girls and young women, it is also breaking stereotypes about who plays sport and how.

Through a combination of sport, life skills, and mentoring, PS4L delivers activities that focus not only on sport but also on healthy lifestyles, inclusion and educational support. In addition to creating a culture of activity and inclusion, PS4L is building physical infrastructure in places where such facilities are lacking or absent. For its positive impact in one of the world’s most challenging environments, PS4L is absolutely deserving of award recognition.

https://ps4l.org/

Category 3: Refugee-led Initiatives Winner: ACSA Cultural & Sport Association – Canada

Shortlist: Soccer Without Borders Uganda (SWB) – Uganda; UkraineActive – Ukraine

Founded in 2009 in Afghanistan and later expanding to Canada and beyond, ACSA (the Afghan-Canadian Social Association) was originally established as the first women’s sports complex in Afghanistan. Today, it operates in more than ten countries with a mission to support refugees, immigrant women, and newcomers through sport, culture and entrepreneurship. Today, ACSA runs a variety of programmes that include soccer, yoga, and fitness classes as well as mentoring and cultural workshops that promote entrepreneurship. These activities not only improve health and wellbeing but also build confidence, reduce isolation, and help refugees integrate into their new communities.

ACSA’s successful model of combining sport with leadership development, cultural workshops and utilising sport as a tool for social inclusion makes the organisation especially deserving of recognition. ASCA’s work convincingly demonstrates how sport can be a bridge not just to community sports participation but to broader social transformation.

https://ascaorg.ca/

Category 4: Role Models (Citizens’ Choice) Winner: Arabinrin Aderonke – Nigeria

Shortlist: Farid Walizadeh – Portugal / Afghanistan; Zainab Hussaini – Afghanistan / USA

Arabinrin Aderonke Atoyebi, founder and leader of the FAME (Female Advocacy, Mentoring & Empowerment) Foundation, is a trailblazer using sport to drive change in Nigeria. Since establishing FAME in 2017, she has become a globally recognised advocate for sport as a tool to empower girls, young women, and marginalised groups in Nigeria’s internally displaced persons (IDP) camps. FAME runs skills acquisition centres focused on poverty alleviation and self-sufficiency, alongside outreach programmes on topics such as menstrual health and hygiene, while at the same time advocating for greater women’s participation in society. The foundation’s flagship programmes include FAME Global Leadership, FAME Lead, and Mentoring Support Services, all of which are designed to equip young people with the values and skills to, overcome gender inequities and create change in their communities — raising the bar for what grassroots sport can achieve in Nigeria.

Her groundbreaking work is a powerful example of how sport can transform the lives of some of the world’s most vulnerable populations. Under her leadership, FAME has created safe spaces for girls, young women, and marginalised people, offering opportunities for empowerment, mentorship, and personal growth. Her approach offers a catalyst for social change, challenging gender norms and promoting inclusion in locations where many face significant barriers.

https://arabinrinaderonke.com

The jury comprised of Raffaella Chiodo Karpinsky (UISP Italy) Stephen Reynards (UNHCR Switzerland), Dr. Christos Anagnostopoulos (Hamad Bin Khalifa University, UNESCO Qatar) Khalida Popal (Girl Power) and Ross Edgeworth (Right to Play UK)