Laureus Sport for Good and Movember join forces to support youth mental health through sport in Paris

Laureus Sport for Good and Movember are stepping up their work in Paris, rolling out an evidence-based youth mental health programme built on Movember Ahead of the Game expertise across six community organisations and sports clubs in the French capital.

A successful first run in Paris

The Movember Ahead of the Game programme was successfully piloted in Paris as part of the city's Olympic legacy programme, Génération 2024, reaching 350 participants. Watch the video now.

Six clubs, one shared ambition

This new partnership between Laureus Sport for Good and Movember extends grant funding to six Parisian community organisations and sports clubs through the Laureus Sport for Good City Paris coalition, with Movember supporting the programme's rollout.

This includes:

• Paris 18 United
• Paris Basket 18
• Académie de Football Paris 18
• Championnet Sports
• Académie MHDN Sports
• All Parisian Basketball

It builds on the work the two organisations already do together in the United States, where they've supported a combined 14 youth development groups in Chicago, New York and Atlanta.

Practical tools for the whole community

Through Movember Ahead of the Game, coaches and programme leaders will have access to a series of workshops designed to build life skills and mental health literacy, helping them create supportive environments for the young people they work with.

Knowing who to turn to

This evidence-based youth mental health programme aims to help young people know who to turn to, and to recognise the network of support around them when they face challenges in sport and in life. By bringing local organisations, coaches and community leaders together in a single city-wide effort, Laureus Sport for Good Cities embodies exactly the kind of coordinated, community-rooted approach Movember looks for in a partner.

A partnership to be proud of

Tom Burstow, Global Development Director at Laureus Sport for Good, said:

"Mental health has long been misunderstood and overlooked during the most formative period of a young person's development. Working with Movember, Laureus Sport for Good is using sport as a powerful tool for mental health, equipping community leaders to create safe, inclusive spaces where young people can thrive. We've seen the remarkable work being done in the Sport for Good Cities in the United States, and we know what's possible in Paris."

Owen Brigstock-Barron, Director, Global Sports Health Initiative at Movember, said:

"Laureus and Movember share a simple belief: sport can be more than a game. Bringing Movember Ahead of the Game to Paris means giving coaches and club leaders practical tools to support the mental health of the young people in their care, at exactly the age when it matters most."

Starting early makes all the difference

Sport, when delivered intentionally, can support good mental health. And the evidence is clear that starting early is essential.

Better together

By pairing Laureus' global Sport for Good City programme with the Movember Ahead of the Game curriculum, one of the world's best-evidenced community mental health programmes of its kind, more young people, coaches, community leaders and parents are learning to build safe, inclusive spaces together, for themselves and for other young people, so they can form genuine connections and thrive.

Find out more about Movember Ahead of the Game.