Football confirms sport as powerful driver for mental health & well being
At the countdown of the award for grand winners of World Cup 2026, Felipe Paullier, the Assistant Secretary-General for Youth Affairs, and Sahira Al Nahari, a Young Leader for the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) convene a global event of One World, One Game, One Goal, to celebrate football’ confirmation as powerful driver for youth mental health and well-being. Together with the young leaders, changemakers, policymakers, UN entities, governments, civil society, private sector partners, athletes, and advocates, to celebrate football and sports launched on Friday, 17 July 2026 – ‘A one-year campaign in forms of a public advocacy that it’s about elevating youth mental health and well-being onto the world stage’. This initiative is a collaboration of young people for they themselves feel empowered and resilient and to support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) with football as the learning medium.
This initiative is launched as a fact that this every 4-year global event shows a dedicated moment where everyone sees football as a connector of humanity, where at the same time as a pain which is often unseen, unspoken and unsupported. A game that sometime brings everybody together, to celebrate, to talk about something, and to cry when the team is not performing well. When we look at the stadiums, we learn discipline, resilience and how to recover from profound loss. It prepares us ultimately for the most complex match of all, which is the game of life.
Al Nahari – a medical doctor by profession added that in football absolutely no one wins alone on the field, players depend on a whole ecosystem. There are defenders, midfielders, coaches, medics, and fans in the stands all having important roles – in an ecosystem. This kind of approach is amended for the youth mental health as it requires the same exact ecosystem.
- One World, One Game, One Goal is part of the United Nations Youth Office’s flagship initiative on Youth Mental Health and Well-Being, advancing an important shift from fragmented, individual approaches to a holistic ecosystem model.
Related Link:
Football and Sports as Powerful Drivers of Youth Mental Health – Presser | United Nations
