Expression of Interest EOI Strategic Partnership for the Recovery Through Sport Program
Description
Job Description
About us
We believe that sport has the power to unlock unexpected solutions that otherwise may have seemed impossible in the face of conflict, inequality, discrimination, and the climate crisis. By using sport as a vehicle for social change, we can challenge harmful prejudices and build a more inclusive, compassionate world where everyone, regardless of their background, can participate, compete, and thrive. Our vision is a world where everyone has the opportunity to experience the transformative power of sport, fostering a healthier, more inclusive, and sustainable future for all. Our mission is to unite communities through sport, driving social change for people and the planet. For more information about our work, please visit our website at https://www.adidasfoundation.org. All job opportunities can be explored on our hiring platform: https://adidasfoundation.jobs.personio.de/?language=en. Please note that we will not be able to reply to messages on this channel. If you want to connect with us, please write an email to: info@adidasfoundation.org If you are looking for a partnership or a donation, kindly note that at this time, we are unable to accept unsolicited proposals. We appreciate the interest in our work and encourage organizations to monitor our website for future opportunities. Thank you for connecting with us!
Eligible Applicants
Established nonprofit organizations seeking a long-term strategic partnership. This includes humanitarian and development organizations as well as sport-for-development organizations with the organizational scale, systems, mandate, and operational reach to engage across multiple contexts. Applications may be submitted by a global headquarters, international secretariat, regional office, national affiliate, or country office. Where the applicant is part of a wider organization, federation, or network, the application must represent a regional, multi-country, or organization-wide partnership opportunity. Applications limited to the operations of a single country office will not normally meet the operational-reach requirement.
BACKGROUND - RECOVERY THROUGH SPORT
Over the past months, the adidas Foundation partnered with an independent research and practice consortium to better understand the role the Foundation could play in supporting communities affected by crisis, particularly children and young people. The consortium helped us develop the evidence-informed framework that now anchors Recovery Through Sport, the Foundation’s new program exploring how sport and physical activity can support recovery when delivered safely, meaningfully, and in connection with existing community, humanitarian, and psychosocial support systems.
The consortium brought together academic research in public health and psychosocial recovery, humanitarian mental health and psychosocial support practice, and operational experience delivering sport-based programming in crisis-affected settings. It conducted a structured review of close to 100 academic studies, consulted more than 30 organizations across the sport-for-development, humanitarian, and MHPSS sectors, and translated these insights into a framework that sets out when sport and physical activity can support recovery, and when they cannot.
The findings of that work are clear. Sport is not a substitute for humanitarian or psychosocial response. It is not a quick intervention, and it is not effective as a shortterm activation. But where the conditions are right, sport and physical activity can play a meaningful role in restoring routine, social connection, belonging, and agency for children and young people whose lives have been disrupted, particularly when delivered over time, embedded in trusted systems, and facilitated by people who understand both sport and recovery. The work is equally clear about the limits of what is known. The evidence base is largely qualitative, concentrated in high-income resettlement settings, and thin in the lowerresourced crisis contexts where the need is often greatest. The adidas Foundation has drawn a direct conclusion from this: the partnerships we aim to form should help build the evidence the field currently lacks. What we look for in partners reflects that.
WHAT RECOVERY THROUGH SPORT MEANS
Recovery Through Sport refers to sport and physical activity programming developed with trusted partners and grounded in community realities, helping children and young people affected by crisis and displacement restore safe participation in everyday life. It supports recovery by rebuilding safe access to sport and physical activity environments, strengthening social connection and belonging, re-establishing routine and agency, and reducing longer-term exclusion, particularly for groups facing structural barriers to participation.
For the adidas Foundation, this means acting only where sport and physical activity can be delivered safely, over time, and through trusted community, humanitarian, and psychosocial support systems. Our approach is conditions-based rather than phasebased: what matters is not whether a context is labelled “acute” or “early recovery,” but whether the enabling conditions for safe and meaningful participation are in place, including trusted local presence, functioning safeguarding systems, available referral pathways, and a credible role for sport in that specific context. In practice, this means eligibility is not determined by how a country or region is classified: a setting labelled "humanitarian" is not automatically in scope, and a setting labelled "development" is not automatically out. What matters is whether programming reaches children and young people whose lives have been disrupted by crisis or displacement, and whether the enabling conditions described above are in place. We also recognize that these settings can be volatile and that conditions on the ground shift. We seek strong partners who understand the complexity and volatility of these contexts, can respond appropriately as conditions change, and recognize when restraint is needed, including pausing activities until safe and enabling conditions are restored.
The Foundation’s approach to Recovery Through Sport is grounded in a core principle: connect, not disrupt. Sport-based recovery programming should strengthen and work within existing humanitarian, MHPSS, and community systems, not introduce parallel structures or compete with established actors. The Foundation’s role is to invest where sport and physical activity add genuine value to recovery, not to position sport as a substitute for what other actors do better. This is why this Expression of Interest is deliberately framed as an expression of interest rather than a call for proposals. Our consultancy recommendations define the conditions under which the Foundation will engage; it does not predefine countries, program models, or delivery formats. Those will be developed with selected partners through
PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES
This Expression of Interest invites organizations to explore a long-term partnership with the adidas Foundation for its new Recovery Through Sport program. We are looking for a small number of partners (up to three) with the MHPSS expertise, humanitarian experience, operational reach, and sport experience to develop and deliver sport-based recovery programming with us, and to build the evidence base alongside it.
The Foundation is seeking partners that can engage at regional, multi-country, or organization-wide level. An application may be led by a headquarters, regional office, national affiliate, or country office, provided the applying entity has a clear mandate to represent and mobilize the wider organizational structure relevant to the proposed partnership. A country office applying only for its own country-level operations will not normally meet the intended scope of this partnership.
This is an invitation to begin a conversation about institutional fit, not a request for proposals. Co-development does not mean starting from zero: many organizations are already doing strong work in this space, and the partnership can equally serve to test, strengthen, and expand what a partner already delivers, and to build the evidence around it. Selection at this stage does not constitute a partnership commitment from either side: it opens a structured dialogue that may, where mutual fit is confirmed, lead to a formalized partnership.
The objectives of this Expression of Interest are to:
• Identify up to three institutional partners that meet the partner profile set out in this document
• Open a structured dialogue, including a joint working session, with shortlisted organizations to test mutual fit before any commitment on either side
• Establish long-term, co-developed partnerships rather than single project-based grants. Co-development may range from funding structure and disbursement model to project selection logic, MEAL frameworks, and specific program designs
• Build a shared approach to sport-based recovery that is grounded in evidence, safeguarding, and operational reality, and contributes to the evidence base over time We are looking for partners who bring not only institutional capability, but the ambition and curiosity to shape this work with us.
• Have documented safeguarding policies and standard operating procedures demonstrating how safeguarding is embedded across organizational operations and programming. This includes reporting mechanisms to handle allegations and concerns safely, as well as safe recruitment procedures for individuals working directly with participants.
• Demonstrate internal transparency through governance structures and internal control systems (e.g., governance manuals, organograms, or equivalent documentation). Compliance and Participation
• Be willing to participate in the adidas Foundation due diligence process and provide additional information related to organizational and financial structures, key personnel, and authorized signatories where requested.
• Conduct standardized due diligence processes for vetting and monitoring downstream recipients of funding, including local NGOs, sub-grantees, or implementation partners, including verification of legal status, integrity risks, basic financial controls, and safeguarding commitments and reporting mechanisms. Applying entity and organizational mandate The applying entity must have the authority and organizational mandate required to explore and shape the proposed partnership. Where the applicant is part of a federation, confederation, network, alliance, or wider international organization, the
Expression of Interest must clearly state:
• which legal entity is applying;
• whether the application represents one country office, multiple countries, a region, or the wider global organization;
• which country offices, regional structures, technical functions, or affiliates would be involved; and
• how the wider organization would participate in partnership design, governance, and delivery. A country office or national affiliate applying solely on behalf of its own country-level operations will not normally meet the operational-reach requirement. A country office, national affiliate, or regional office may apply where it has a clear mandate to represent a wider regional, multi-country, or organization-wide partnership opportunity. Evidence of this mandate may be requested during shortlisting or due diligence.
CONTACT
For questions about this Expression of Interest, please use the [Recovery Through Sport question submission form.
Questions received by 27 July 2026 will be considered for the informational webinar on 30 July 2026.Following the webinar, the Foundation will publish and update a live FAQ document weekly. Individual responses will not be provided. Similar questions may be grouped and addressed collectively through the webinar or FAQ, while questions already clearly covered in these guidelines or on the Recovery Through Sport webpage may not be addressed separately.
The Foundation welcomes questions about the scope, intent, eligibility requirements, and submission process. It will not provide feedback on draft submissions before the deadline.
How to apply
- For more information, please check the link: Expression of Interest EOI Strategic Partnership for the Recovery Through Sport Program
Documents
Description
Job Description
About us
We believe that sport has the power to unlock unexpected solutions that otherwise may have seemed impossible in the face of conflict, inequality, discrimination, and the climate crisis. By using sport as a vehicle for social change, we can challenge harmful prejudices and build a more inclusive, compassionate world where everyone, regardless of their background, can participate, compete, and thrive. Our vision is a world where everyone has the opportunity to experience the transformative power of sport, fostering a healthier, more inclusive, and sustainable future for all. Our mission is to unite communities through sport, driving social change for people and the planet. For more information about our work, please visit our website at https://www.adidasfoundation.org. All job opportunities can be explored on our hiring platform: https://adidasfoundation.jobs.personio.de/?language=en. Please note that we will not be able to reply to messages on this channel. If you want to connect with us, please write an email to: info@adidasfoundation.org If you are looking for a partnership or a donation, kindly note that at this time, we are unable to accept unsolicited proposals. We appreciate the interest in our work and encourage organizations to monitor our website for future opportunities. Thank you for connecting with us!
Eligible Applicants
Established nonprofit organizations seeking a long-term strategic partnership. This includes humanitarian and development organizations as well as sport-for-development organizations with the organizational scale, systems, mandate, and operational reach to engage across multiple contexts. Applications may be submitted by a global headquarters, international secretariat, regional office, national affiliate, or country office. Where the applicant is part of a wider organization, federation, or network, the application must represent a regional, multi-country, or organization-wide partnership opportunity. Applications limited to the operations of a single country office will not normally meet the operational-reach requirement.
BACKGROUND - RECOVERY THROUGH SPORT
Over the past months, the adidas Foundation partnered with an independent research and practice consortium to better understand the role the Foundation could play in supporting communities affected by crisis, particularly children and young people. The consortium helped us develop the evidence-informed framework that now anchors Recovery Through Sport, the Foundation’s new program exploring how sport and physical activity can support recovery when delivered safely, meaningfully, and in connection with existing community, humanitarian, and psychosocial support systems.
The consortium brought together academic research in public health and psychosocial recovery, humanitarian mental health and psychosocial support practice, and operational experience delivering sport-based programming in crisis-affected settings. It conducted a structured review of close to 100 academic studies, consulted more than 30 organizations across the sport-for-development, humanitarian, and MHPSS sectors, and translated these insights into a framework that sets out when sport and physical activity can support recovery, and when they cannot.
The findings of that work are clear. Sport is not a substitute for humanitarian or psychosocial response. It is not a quick intervention, and it is not effective as a shortterm activation. But where the conditions are right, sport and physical activity can play a meaningful role in restoring routine, social connection, belonging, and agency for children and young people whose lives have been disrupted, particularly when delivered over time, embedded in trusted systems, and facilitated by people who understand both sport and recovery. The work is equally clear about the limits of what is known. The evidence base is largely qualitative, concentrated in high-income resettlement settings, and thin in the lowerresourced crisis contexts where the need is often greatest. The adidas Foundation has drawn a direct conclusion from this: the partnerships we aim to form should help build the evidence the field currently lacks. What we look for in partners reflects that.
WHAT RECOVERY THROUGH SPORT MEANS
Recovery Through Sport refers to sport and physical activity programming developed with trusted partners and grounded in community realities, helping children and young people affected by crisis and displacement restore safe participation in everyday life. It supports recovery by rebuilding safe access to sport and physical activity environments, strengthening social connection and belonging, re-establishing routine and agency, and reducing longer-term exclusion, particularly for groups facing structural barriers to participation.
For the adidas Foundation, this means acting only where sport and physical activity can be delivered safely, over time, and through trusted community, humanitarian, and psychosocial support systems. Our approach is conditions-based rather than phasebased: what matters is not whether a context is labelled “acute” or “early recovery,” but whether the enabling conditions for safe and meaningful participation are in place, including trusted local presence, functioning safeguarding systems, available referral pathways, and a credible role for sport in that specific context. In practice, this means eligibility is not determined by how a country or region is classified: a setting labelled "humanitarian" is not automatically in scope, and a setting labelled "development" is not automatically out. What matters is whether programming reaches children and young people whose lives have been disrupted by crisis or displacement, and whether the enabling conditions described above are in place. We also recognize that these settings can be volatile and that conditions on the ground shift. We seek strong partners who understand the complexity and volatility of these contexts, can respond appropriately as conditions change, and recognize when restraint is needed, including pausing activities until safe and enabling conditions are restored.
The Foundation’s approach to Recovery Through Sport is grounded in a core principle: connect, not disrupt. Sport-based recovery programming should strengthen and work within existing humanitarian, MHPSS, and community systems, not introduce parallel structures or compete with established actors. The Foundation’s role is to invest where sport and physical activity add genuine value to recovery, not to position sport as a substitute for what other actors do better. This is why this Expression of Interest is deliberately framed as an expression of interest rather than a call for proposals. Our consultancy recommendations define the conditions under which the Foundation will engage; it does not predefine countries, program models, or delivery formats. Those will be developed with selected partners through
PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES
This Expression of Interest invites organizations to explore a long-term partnership with the adidas Foundation for its new Recovery Through Sport program. We are looking for a small number of partners (up to three) with the MHPSS expertise, humanitarian experience, operational reach, and sport experience to develop and deliver sport-based recovery programming with us, and to build the evidence base alongside it.
The Foundation is seeking partners that can engage at regional, multi-country, or organization-wide level. An application may be led by a headquarters, regional office, national affiliate, or country office, provided the applying entity has a clear mandate to represent and mobilize the wider organizational structure relevant to the proposed partnership. A country office applying only for its own country-level operations will not normally meet the intended scope of this partnership.
This is an invitation to begin a conversation about institutional fit, not a request for proposals. Co-development does not mean starting from zero: many organizations are already doing strong work in this space, and the partnership can equally serve to test, strengthen, and expand what a partner already delivers, and to build the evidence around it. Selection at this stage does not constitute a partnership commitment from either side: it opens a structured dialogue that may, where mutual fit is confirmed, lead to a formalized partnership.
The objectives of this Expression of Interest are to:
• Identify up to three institutional partners that meet the partner profile set out in this document
• Open a structured dialogue, including a joint working session, with shortlisted organizations to test mutual fit before any commitment on either side
• Establish long-term, co-developed partnerships rather than single project-based grants. Co-development may range from funding structure and disbursement model to project selection logic, MEAL frameworks, and specific program designs
• Build a shared approach to sport-based recovery that is grounded in evidence, safeguarding, and operational reality, and contributes to the evidence base over time We are looking for partners who bring not only institutional capability, but the ambition and curiosity to shape this work with us.
• Have documented safeguarding policies and standard operating procedures demonstrating how safeguarding is embedded across organizational operations and programming. This includes reporting mechanisms to handle allegations and concerns safely, as well as safe recruitment procedures for individuals working directly with participants.
• Demonstrate internal transparency through governance structures and internal control systems (e.g., governance manuals, organograms, or equivalent documentation). Compliance and Participation
• Be willing to participate in the adidas Foundation due diligence process and provide additional information related to organizational and financial structures, key personnel, and authorized signatories where requested.
• Conduct standardized due diligence processes for vetting and monitoring downstream recipients of funding, including local NGOs, sub-grantees, or implementation partners, including verification of legal status, integrity risks, basic financial controls, and safeguarding commitments and reporting mechanisms. Applying entity and organizational mandate The applying entity must have the authority and organizational mandate required to explore and shape the proposed partnership. Where the applicant is part of a federation, confederation, network, alliance, or wider international organization, the
Expression of Interest must clearly state:
• which legal entity is applying;
• whether the application represents one country office, multiple countries, a region, or the wider global organization;
• which country offices, regional structures, technical functions, or affiliates would be involved; and
• how the wider organization would participate in partnership design, governance, and delivery. A country office or national affiliate applying solely on behalf of its own country-level operations will not normally meet the operational-reach requirement. A country office, national affiliate, or regional office may apply where it has a clear mandate to represent a wider regional, multi-country, or organization-wide partnership opportunity. Evidence of this mandate may be requested during shortlisting or due diligence.
CONTACT
For questions about this Expression of Interest, please use the [Recovery Through Sport question submission form.
Questions received by 27 July 2026 will be considered for the informational webinar on 30 July 2026.Following the webinar, the Foundation will publish and update a live FAQ document weekly. Individual responses will not be provided. Similar questions may be grouped and addressed collectively through the webinar or FAQ, while questions already clearly covered in these guidelines or on the Recovery Through Sport webpage may not be addressed separately.
The Foundation welcomes questions about the scope, intent, eligibility requirements, and submission process. It will not provide feedback on draft submissions before the deadline.
How to apply
- For more information, please check the link: Expression of Interest EOI Strategic Partnership for the Recovery Through Sport Program