World Athletics is strengthening the role of children’s athletics as a tool to promote inclusion, education and the well-being of children and young people through the Global Sport for Good initiative. Implemented in 2024, this international collaboration brings together the International Olympic Committee (IOC), World Rugby, FIBA and the Badminton World Federation, aiming to harness the power of sport to create positive change for individuals and their communities.
For World Athletics, the Kids’ Athletics programme is the main vehicle for putting these goals into practice. Designed for children aged four to fourteen, the initiative has become one of the world’s largest grassroots athletics development programmes, reaching 170 countries and more than seven million children during its latest participation campaign. Its approach prioritises accessible, fun experiences tailored to the needs of children.
Kids’ Athletics: a programme using sport to support child development
The Kids’ Athletics programme aims to make children’s first experience of athletics a positive one, allowing them to develop their physical and social abilities without making sporting performance the sole objective. Its methodology places children at the centre of activities, taking their needs, opinions, experiences and well-being into account when designing sessions. In this way, participation in sport becomes an opportunity to build confidence, motivation, inclusion and a sense of belonging.
World Athletics President Sebastian Coe highlighted the importance of understanding the programme’s effects beyond participation figures. The initiative seeks to identify how athletics can influence young people’s lives and strengthen community ties. In this context, Global Sport for Good also aims to improve the ability of sports federations and organisations to recognise, measure and communicate the benefits of their work, particularly in areas such as health, education and social integration.
Coach training and tools to expand the impact of athletics
The quality of sporting experiences depends largely on the people who make them possible. For this reason, World Athletics is working to strengthen the network implementing Kids’ Athletics, which includes 18 lead coaches, more than 300 lead educators from member federations, and over 10,000 coaches and teachers in clubs and schools. Through training and the development of new tools, the organisation aims to help those working directly with children better understand their needs and adapt activities to the characteristics of each community.
In this regard, World Athletics launched the Kids’ Athletics app in April, designed to make it easier for coaches and teachers to plan and deliver sessions. The tool is free, works offline, includes a built-in session planner and is available in six languages. These features simplify lesson preparation and reduce the need for printed materials, while helping create safe, engaging environments tailored to participants. At the same time, the Global Sport for Good initiative promotes greater evaluation of athletics’ social impact, enabling federations to demonstrate more clearly their contribution to well-being, inclusion, education and community development.
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