Sport organisations can play a key role in affecting meaningful change on this problem, leading awareness and advocacy and making a statement of no tolerance for human trafficking in and through sport. The seriousness of this issue is evident through the sport regulations that have been implemented in the last two decades, which aim to prevent this kind of abuse and exploitation. For example, the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) Basic Universal Principles of Good Governance of the Olympic and Sports Movement, prohibits exploitation of young athletes and explicitly states that for protecting athletes:

• Measures should be taken to prohibit exploitation of young athletes
• Athletes should be protected from unscrupulous recruiters and agents
• Cooperation with the government of the countries concerned should be developed
• Codes of conduct should be signed by all sport organisations

Sport organisations have become accustomed to the phrase ‘creating a culture of safety’ so often that sometimes the phrase can lack meaning or mean nothing more than a box-ticking exercise that ensures the required policies are in place. Creating a culture of safety means embedding safeguarding into everything an organisation does. In view of this, Mission 89 provides sport organisations with 5 recommendations comprising crucial actions and steps to take the collective fight against human trafficking in sport to the next level in 2021.

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Mission 89 in collaboration with the Sport Journalists Association of the Gambia (SJAG) on Saturday 16th January, organised an 8-kilometre Media Run Against Trafficking in Sport in The Gambia. The event, which started and ended at the Traffic Lights in Banjul, attracted over 200 people from diverse sectors of society. The President of SJAG, Musa Sise, serving as event MC, read a statement on behalf of Mission89. He thanked Mission 89 for the partnership and emphasised the need for the media to be at the forefront of the challenges in sport, such as human trafficking.

Addressing the participants before the warm-up, the Minister for Youth and Sport, Mr. Bakary Badjie praised Mission 89 and SJAG for the first of its kind awareness raising campaign, commending the impressive turn-out. Mr. Badjie said, “we were not even thinking about human trafficking in sport, we were thinking about human trafficking in other areas”. He emphasised that Mission 89 and SJAG has stimulated government through the Ministry to take up the issue with other stakeholders in the sport sector, at other levels, to prevent young Gambians from falling prey of trafficking in sport.

Minister for Youth and Sport of the Gambia, Bakary Badjie being interviewed during the run.

Diverse voices of stakeholders
The Run attracted a large turn-out of enthusiastic key stakeholders from the public and private sectors. Participants came from a wide range of institutions such as the National Agency Against Trafficking in Person, the Gambia Immigration Department, International Organization for Migration country office, African Legal Charter, the National Youth Council, National Sports Council, the Gambia Football federation, among others. Other participants included the Walk for Health team, members of the local media and SJAG executives, Businessmen, and Diaspora Gambians. Banka Manneh, a prominent online platform host on holidays from the USA expressed his enthusiasm on joining the campaign. “I had seen the pictures on facebook and I said, I want to be part of this to sensitise and educate our population on this issue!”

Participants who took part in the run came from diverse sectors of the society to show support to what is considered an innovative idea initiated by Mission89 and the SJAG partnership.

Breaking the silence
According to participants, the event inspires better understanding and discussions into the topic as related to the local set up and understanding. “Trafficking in sport is luring someone into something they don’t know” added a former youth coach and journalist trainer Sang Mendy. Adding, “it is important to sensitise the young ones and the parents. Most of the parents are not aware of the danger their children could be going through and it is important to sensitise these people too”. He continued, “most parents are really involved in the football trials of their children but little are they aware of the existence of fake agents and individuals who disguised on the promise of helping to get the breakthrough”. The event also serves as a wake-up call for the sport sector to scrutinise its means to strengthen the sports structures and make it economically viable for young athletes to participate. The Communications Officer of the Gambia Football Federation, Baboucarr Camara highlighted that as the custodians of football in the country, more work needed to be done with clubs in this respect to ensure that agents coming into the country are scrutinised.

In his closing remarks the President of the SJAG, emphasised that the intention is not just to organise the event and stop there, but for other organizations and individuals to take up the issue from Mission 89 and SJAG collaboration in order to stop the menace in the country.

The Executive Director of the National Agency Against Trafficking in Persons (NAATIP), Tulia Jawara and the President of the Sport Journalists Association (SJAG), Musa Sise.

The first step into the country-strategy
The Media Run is the first of a series of events Mission 89 lined-up to raise awareness in collaboration with the sports press in the West African country with over 2 million inhabitants. Other events planned include a virtual roundtable to take place on 21st January at 16h00 GMT, a training programme for sport journalists on human trafficking in sport, among others.

The Gambia has become a hub for sex trafficking, child labour and illegal migration. In 2016, a first division club in the national football league, Banjul United, lost 25 of its players through illegal migration in the Mediterranean sea. A national wrestler Ali Mbengu (Mil Franc) and national female footballer Fatim Jawara both lost their lives at sea trying to cross to Europe.

Watch the Media Run here.

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On June 9th, Mission ‘89 and Istanbul Bilgi University, jointly hosted a virtual round table that discussed “the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and restrictions imposed on the lives of migrant footballers in Istanbul”. The round table, co-moderated by Mission ‘89 Board Member, Yann Coelenbier and Faculty Member of the Sport Management Department at the Istanbul Bilgi University, Dr. Ilknur Hacisoftaoglu, invited experts from the fields of journalism, academia and city management to collectively address the difficulties faced by migrant athletes and victims of football trafficking in Istanbul, while encouraging cooperation and action at the institutional level.

Mr. Coelenbier outlined the importance of understanding the perspectives of both athletes and relevant stakeholder institutions, while encouraging a climate of cooperation and collective action, noting that “there is no one road to migration in sports. Every athlete has different motivations – but most importantly, they want to contribute and build a better future”.

In exploring the lived experiences of Istanbul’s migrant footballers, Dr. Hacisoftaoglu, who has been studying the topic for the past year, was clear in her assessment that “we have a problem in sports, particularly in football; the scale of the industry has made it a common destination for migrant footballers around the world”.

Head of the African Community in Turkey, Julius Kugor, pointed to lack of job prospects, as well as recent regulations in the lower levels of Turkey’s football pyramid as particularly troubling developments for migrant footballers. “Two years ago the Turkish Football Federation ruled that foreigners cannot play in the 4th and 5th division, so it has become very tough for migrant players”, he said.

Bagis Erten, Journalist & Production Manager at Eurosport, was less optimistic in his outlook for migrant football players in the wake of COVID-19, pointing out that uncertain financial health in the lower divisions is likely to make the protection of migrant athletes a low priority. He was of the view that “the only hope for migrant athletes must come from civic society, as the football industry’s agenda will be too loaded to consider anything else”.

At the institutional level, however, there appears to be enthusiasm for action. According to Coordinator of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality’s Migration Unit, Simten Birsoz, they have expanded basic protection services to migrants in the city (providing nearly

8000 support packages thus far), while they continue to assess their action plan, which involves “creating harmonization opportunities between migrants and host communities and making municipal activities inclusive to migrants, including recreational sports funding”.

There was acknowledgment that those at the top of the Turkish football pyramid also have their part to play, through lobbying and public awareness campaigns. “Galatasaray are not part of the problem, but we can be part of the solution”, stated Istanbul Bilgi University Professor and Galatasary S.K. Board Member Emre Erdogan.

Mission89 Board Member Yann Coelenbier, ended the round table by emphasizing the power of cooperative discussions in tackling societal problems facing migrant athletes. “Cooperation is to create empowerment. We have clubs with resources, we have municipalities with the capacity to integrate and recognize, and we have athletes who wish to take action,” he concluded.

Media Contact:

Media@mission89.org

gizem.kulekcioglu@bilgi.edu.tr

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The Mission 89 educational programs were implemented in workshops that used sport to empower future community leaders with skills that can be transferred into their daily lives.

The workshop, held over three days, was attended by 50 young men and women from 13 different Internally Displaced Persons [IDP] camps and five states across Sudan.

Mission 89 presented a cooperative, team-building, and decision-making toolkit delivered by Margaret Belewa, Mission 89 Program Manager, to participants that took into consideration the political and cultural context of a region that has been heavily impacted by many years of conflict.

Participants at Mission 89’s education program in Darfur as part of the Save The Dream festival.

Participants were trained on creating “safe spaces” for events and sustainable projects within their communities. This was done through facilitation on the development of a child protection policy and code of conduct and within the framework of 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child [UNCRC].

Workshop participants also included Kenyan long distance runner and Save the Dream ambassador, Tegla Loroupe, Sudan football hero Abdul Aziz Zakariya, and former Qatar national team goalkeeper, Ali Fouad.

“Educating young people through sport and the framework of the UNCRC is a powerful tool,” said Lerina Bright, Executive Director of Mission 89.

“Vulnerable young people can easily be exploited and abused and fall prey to people with bad intentions. Mission 89 aims to empower young people with the tools to make informed decisions about their futures and Darfur Dreams Initiative was an excellent platform to do this. Thanks to Save the Dream for asking Mission 89 to be a part of this project and for their vision in developing this initiative.”

Mission 89 education programs held during the Darfur Dreams Initiative.

The workshop was part of the Save The Dream festival that included football matches between local communities represented by teams from Abu Shouk, Zamzam, and Salam IDP camps. The festival, held at El Fashir Stadium, was attended by approximately 23,000 members of the public, national and local government officials, dignitaries, and international personalities.

“A displaced person lives in a very difficult, insecure condition and trusts nobody,” explained Mission 89’s Margaret Belewa. “Idleness and hopelessness leads to vulnerability and an opportunity to be easily exploited. Learning new skills is a challenge because levels of concentration is low. Mission 89’s training methodology of using games makes training fun. Life skills, trust, bonding, and team work can be built with a game in less than two hours. This was proven in North Darfur this July.”

The workshop prompted a positive response on social media.

“Amazing program connecting young leaders from around the world to advance peace and coexistence,” wrote Facebook user Alawia Yahia.

Mission 89 education programs took place for IDPs in Darfur in July.

Darfur Dreams Initiative saw Mission 89 partner with Aspire Academy and Save the Dream Foundation. The event was funded by Qatar Fund for Development and Qatar Charity and was supported at the local level by the Sudanese Sport Organization for Peace and Development.

“Save the Dream and partners like Mission 89 will always do their best to contribute to the development of sport and sport for peace programs in Darfur,” said Massimiliano Montanari, Executive Director of Save the Dream. “I am very delighted by the decision of our main partners, Qatar Fund and Qatar Charity, to support the establishment of 40 sport centers in the region. This is extremely important since it demonstrates the determination of our coalition to make a real change in Darfur, at all levels, and to set the basis for future activities.”

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