Mission 89 is a global organisation working at the intersection of sport, migration, and human rights to prevent the exploitation of young athletes.
Across the world, thousands of young athletes pursue dreams of professional sport. For many, these dreams are manipulated by traffickers who exploit ambition, poverty, and limited opportunities. Mission 89 exists to confront this reality.
We combine research, education, and policy advocacy to create systems that protect young athletes before exploitation occurs. Aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 8.7 and 16.2, our work addresses the root causes that allow sport trafficking to persist.
Mission 89 is the world’s only research, education, and advocacy organisation dedicated exclusively to combating human trafficking in, through, and around sport. Based in Geneva, Switzerland, we work in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, FIFA Article 19, and the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons (the Palermo Protocol) to strengthen safeguarding systems, promote accountability, and influence policy reforms that protect minors and young migrant athletes worldwide.
We create the first and most comprehensive independent evidence base of sport trafficking to shape global norms for policymakers and legal frameworks.
We equip athletes, families, coaches, federations, and communities with practical knowledge to identify risks, understand rights, and recognise warning signs before harm occurs.
We work with governments, intergovernmental organisations, sport governing bodies, and international institutions to strengthen regulations, close loopholes, and create accountability across the global sports ecosystem.
Young athletes estimated trafficked annually from West Africa to Western Europe through football alone
Safeguarding officers trained across international sports organisations
Participants across Mission 89’s global online training sessions
Countries engaged through Mission 89 initiatives, campaigns, and events
Safesport Pathways
SafeSport Pathways focuses on protecting migrant athletes across borders, funded by the EU Erasmus+ to safeguard young athletes with a multilingual digital toolkit, professional micro-credentials, and structured safeguarding pathways for informed decision-making.
Young athletes are often targeted by false promises of trials, contracts, scholarships, and migration opportunities. What looks like a pathway to success can quickly become a route into trafficking, abuse, abandonment, or labour exploitation. Sport trafficking is not on the margins of global sport — it is embedded within it.
Understand how young athletes are trafficked and why safeguards matter
Fund independent investigations and evidence-based reporting
Raise awareness within your networks and communities
Collaborate on research, policy, safeguarding, or education
Almost 50 international and national sport federations and organisations have signed The Line We Don’t Cross Declaration, committing to zero tolerance for child trafficking in,
Mission 89 Addresses Cairo Symposium on Border Management and Human Trafficking Prevention During Major Sporting Events Lerina Bright, Executive Director of Mission 89, addressed the