The winners of the Beyond Sport Awards 2012 were revealed in London on July 25, bringing to an end the annual Beyond Sport Summit.
Tony Blair, the former British prime minister and chairman of the Beyond Sport Ambassadors, presented the award for Best New Project, supported by PwC to GOALS Haiti, which has used sport to mobilise communities in the country since the 2010 earthquake, empowering young people and adults to organise themselves to develop projects that improve shelter, leadership, and infrastructure.
The day’s other winners, with presenters including five-time Olympic champion Ian Thorpe, five-time ice skating world champion Michelle Kwan, Olympic legend Bob Beamon, Professional Footballers’ Association chairman Clarke Carlisle, NBA legend and activist John Amaechi and 1995 Rugby World Cup winning captain Francois Pienaar, included the Memphis Grizzlies picking up the global award for Sport Team of the Year and the Australian Rugby League Commission, which was named Sport Federation or Governing Body of the Year, supported by SportAccord.
Wednesday’s other winners were Romania’s Sports for Education, Education for the Future (UNICEF Sport for Education Award); WASH United (Sport for Health Award); AMANDLA EduFootball (Sport for Conflict Resolution Award); Girls Kick It, Chicken House Project (Best Project for Social Inclusion, supported by Barclays Spaces for Sports); NRDC Sports Greening Project (Sport for the Environment Award, supported by NASCAR); Standard Chartered Bank (Corporate of the Year, supported by Fortune); and Skateistan (Innovation Through Sport Award, supported by StubHub).
They completed a 2012 line-up that also includes the Leadership in Sport Award, supported by P&G, which was awarded to Lord Seb Coe and Sir Keith Mills in June for their work with International Inspiration, and Street League, which won the P&G UK Impact Award in association with The Daily Telegraph.
Before the awards ceremony, 19-year-old Matiullah Haidar was presented with the Generation Ali Beyond Sport Award by sporting icons Muhammad Ali and David Beckham.
Each winning project will receive a bespoke package of support. All have received global recognition and will continue to benefit from in-depth profiling of their work through Beyond Sport’s channels and global network.
Nick Keller, the founder of Beyond Sport, says: “These projects change lives and communities to an astonishing level.
“It is a privilege to meet, highlight and support the amazing leaders who drive them, and recognise the very best work in this hugely important sector.”
For more information on Beyond Sport and the Beyond Sport Awards visit www.beyondsport.org
