The initiative is aimed at providing revenue opportunities combined with sport.

Bangkok has been selected as the first city for the project.

"We want to replicate in other cities after Bangkok and we have UNESCO and IFMA, both global organisations, supporting us," Yunus Sports Hub director of operations Yoko Youssouf told insidethegames.

"The main problem we want to tackle is the poverty of the people in that area, lack of access to sport and economic activities, especially for youth at risk and vulnerable women.

"We want to give them opportunities to create revenue for themselves.

"We want them to be able to create their own small businesses.

"For the youth, we will teach them how to become an entrepreneur."

The IFMA already has set up muaythai facilities in Bangkok as part of its Sport Is Your Gang initiative, aimed at helping youth in poor cities.

According to Rahul Bissoonauth, chief commercial officer at Yunus Sports Hub, the idea is to add "new elements around them".

"We are basically building around the existing facilities," Bissoonauth said.

"We are just adding new elements around them.

"For example, we will tell them how to turn these places into sustainable businesses rather than just a simple sports facility."

Along with IFMA representatives, Bissoonauth and Youssouf have already visited a facility during the 2022 United Through Sports World Youth Festival here to understand how it is being used and how muaythai is helping the youth in the area.

Currently in the process of preparing a model for the initiative, the organisations said that it will take three to six months to set up the first project in Bangkok and a year to see the results.

"Everything is in place," Bissoonauth said.

"It is just a matter of selecting the site and confirming the funding."

For the Bangkok project, local Thai authorities are willing to help and the organisation is hoping for "corporates to come forward" as well.

"IFMA has the experience of running such a facility already," Youssouf said.

"So, they will focus on that.

"UNESCO will provide an institutional role as they have the credibility.

"The plan is to develop more in places where IFMA already has centres."

Manilla in the Philippines and Hanoi in Vietnam are also shortlisted as future venues.