A former World No.1 in women’s tennis and a footballer who has played in the top divisions of Spain, England, France, Italy and the USA joined forces with Laureus and sustainability partner, EY, at the Laureus World Sports Awards earlier this week, to begin a new chapter in social sustainability in sport.
Both two-time Grand Slam champion Garbiñe Muguruza and Kosovare Asllani, capped 192 times for the Sweden women’s national football team, are Laureus Ambassadors with a history of advocacy. They chose the 25th anniversary Laureus World Sports Awards in Madrid to convene a panel of changemakers including representatives from NGOs, elite sporting events and industry with the goal of developing actionable strategies that can be adopted across sport to foster social sustainability.
‘Local to Global – Sport as a Catalyst for a Better World’ was presented by Laureus and EY at the Palacio de Cibeles, the venue later that same day for the Laureus World Sports Awards, attended by the world’s greatest athletes.
The conversation spotlighted real-world examples of sport transforming communities, fostering inclusion, resilience, education, and health outcomes, both through community initiatives and also major international events.
At the close of the session, Muguruza and Asllani had aligned this diverse group of stakeholders around common strategies aimed at bringing these different sectors together in ways that benefit all of them – and the planet.
By building social engagement opportunities into elite sporting events such as the Mutua Madrid Open, athletes, community programmes and the events themselves can align their shared aim of promoting social sustainability.
As well as Muguruza and Asllani, expert contributors included Alicia Rubí (EY Partner and sustainability, Gerard Tsobanian (CEO of Madrid Trophy Promotions, which present top sporting events), and Motlatsi Nkhahle (Director of NGO Kick4Life, later announced as the winner of the Laureus Sport for Good Award Panellists explored topics including ethical leadership, diversity and inclusion, environmental action, and the role of strategic partnerships in scaling impact. The session concluded with Garbiñe Muguruza’s call to action, urging continued collaboration and innovation, resulting in a commitment from athletes and EY to take up the conversation and plot a path to transforming the sports development sector to drive social sustainability.
Alicia Rubí, EY, said: “Social sustainability is not a side project, it’s integral to business success and to how we build the future. This conversation marked a meaningful step forward in uniting sport, business and community for positive impact.”
Garbiñe Muguruza said: “Sport gave me everything – it allowed me to live my dream and use my platform to give back to communities, which is immensely fulfilling. Working together with the support of Laureus and its sustainability partner EY is the perfect fit as it allows me to be true to myself and what I stand for. Together, we can take sports’ role in creating positive impact to the next level.”
Kosovare Asllani said: “Helping create a future where no kids grow up without opportunities has always been like a burning light within me. Despite our different backgrounds and experiences, there are more and more of us with shared beliefs and values, and this makes it easy for us to work together. There’s no turning back and the more of us that get on board, the quicker we’ll move forward towards equality.”
Gerard Tsobanian, CEO of Madrid Trophy Promotion, said: “With intentional planning and imbedded purpose, shared by all stakeholders, events like the Mutua Madrid Open can leave legacies that extend far beyond the excitement that takes place on the courts. With the boom of social media athletes have become the loudspeakers of the events and can convey messages about the purpose behind the event like nobody else. What is more the athletes enjoy advocating for causes they believe in. So, events need to match with sponsors that share the same commitment to positive social and environmental impact. It’s essential that there is a close collaboration between sporting events, social and environmental purpose and athletes.”
Motlatsi Nkhahle, Kick4Life, said: “It was fascinating to hear so many diverse perspectives and to see so clearly how the adoption of a collaborative mindset is essential to unleash sports’ full potential. Today we reaffirmed that we all have a part to play.”
With support from EY and Laureus, this event marks the beginning of a renewed global movement to harness sport as a vehicle for sustainable and inclusive development.
