By Tom Degun

Beyond Sport_Oct_7October 7 – The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has appointed global organisation Beyond Sport to support their Sport for All Commission chaired by South Africa's Sam Ramsamy.


The Sport for All Commission was established in 1983 to encourage and support efforts to disseminate the health and social benefits of sport.

Beyond Sport will work with the Commission throughout the build-up to the 15th IOC World Conference on Sport for All which will be held in Lima, Peru, in April next year.

The organisation will support the development of the event delivery and use its network and knowledge of programmes from around the world to assist the Commission in selecting recipients of Sport for All grants.

The two bodies have already worked together ahead of the first awarding of these grants, which were announced at the 14th IOC World Conference on Sport for All in Beijing, China, last year.

Ramsamy has welcomed the latest collaboration.

Sam Ramsamy_Oct_7_Sam Ramsamy, the chair of the IOC Sport For All Commission, has welcomed the involvement of Beyond Sport in selecting recipients of Sport for All grants

"Sport for All is at the heart of the Olympic Movement and closely linked to development through sport," said the 74-year-old from Durban, who is a member of the IOC Executive Board.

"It really touches society at large.

"The expertise of Beyond Sport in this area increases the impact of the conference and future initiatives."

Beyond Sport has positioned itself as the central point for a network which now reaches 135 countries across the globe and has been involved with dozens of programmes using sport as a tool to tackle social issues including health, unemployment, conflict resolution, gang-related violence and education.

"Beyond Sport's values and objectives have, since our foundation, been similar to the values and objectives of the International Olympic Committee and the Olympic Movement as a whole," said Beyond Sport founder Nick Keller.

"Sport can and does play a transformative role in communities around the world.

"The IOC occupies a unique place both within and beyond sport, and the potential impact of Sport for All's mission is unprecedented in this field."

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