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Rabat – Morocco has announced the launch of the “Group of Friends for Sport and Migration,” an initiative aimed at strengthening international cooperation and promoting the integration of sport into migration policies.
The initiative was unveiled on Friday in New York by Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita, during a high-level event on “Sport as a Tool for Social Inclusion and Migration Governance.” The event was held on the sidelines of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly, in partnership with the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Bourita emphasized that sport is far more than a leisure activity. “It is an immediate vehicle for integration, a space for recognition, and an inspiring framework for rethinking migration governance,” he stressed, adding: “On the field, a migrant is not a stranger, but a teammate, a competitor, a talent, a human being.”
He highlighted the valuable lessons that sport can offer: integration occurs naturally, universal rules adapt to local contexts, international cooperation flourishes through federations and committees, and human values are upheld—particularly in the fight against racism. These dimensions, he said, “provide a useful model for strengthening inclusion and building a new, objective and positive narrative around migration.”
Reflecting on Morocco’s own experience, Bourita pointed to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, where the Moroccan national team—featuring many diaspora players—demonstrated how integration in host countries can foster pride and unity in countries of origin.
The new Group of Friends was warmly welcomed by participants and is expected to become a practical platform for dialogue and long-term cooperation among international stakeholders working at the intersection of sport and migration.
Bringing together states, international organizations, the International Olympic Committee, sports federations, and civil society, the group’s mission will be to share knowledge, promote best practices, and develop joint initiatives to advance social inclusion for migrants and strengthen migration governance.
The event’s participants also stressed the importance of moving from vision to action. They agreed to explore pilot programs at local and national levels that integrate sport into migration governance, with a focus on youth inclusion, ethical recruitment in sports, and vocational training in the sports sector. These programs are intended to serve as testing grounds for scalable and replicable models.
Speakers further underscored the need to align this initiative with the Global Compact for Safe, Orderly, and Regular Migration, while also preparing for the Second International Migration Review Forum (IMRF) in 2026, to ensure that sport’s role in social inclusion and migration governance is fully recognized in future multilateral frameworks.
Concluding the event, Morocco and the IOM reaffirmed their shared commitment to sustaining this dialogue, stressing that the unique contribution of sport to inclusion and governance must be firmly embedded in international cooperation efforts going forward.
