The Sport 4 Peace project was officially launched at the Newforge Sports Complex in Belfast, marking the start of a major four-year, cross-border initiative that will use sport to promote positive relations, inclusion and lasting community connections across Ulster’s nine counties.

Supported by the PEACEPLUS Programme, Sport 4 Peace is led by Ulster GAA in partnership with the Football Association of Ireland (FAI), Ulster Rugby and the Irish Football Association (IFA). 

The project will deliver a programme of sustained, meaningful engagement designed to bring people together across community backgrounds through sport.

The launch was attended by FAI Head of Women & Girls’ Football Lizzy Kent, Northern Ireland football manager Michael O’Neill, Ulster Rugby’s General Manager, Rory Best and two-time All-Ireland-winning Gaelic footballer Peter Canavan.

Over the lifetime of the project, more than 6,000 participants will be engaged through 96 schools and 80 sports clubs, with activity delivered across 14 council areas on a cross-community and cross-border basis, including border counties and areas experiencing higher levels of social need.

The programme focuses on long-term participation rather than one-off events, combining sport with education, leadership development, volunteering and community engagement. This approach is rooted in evidence that sport has its greatest peacebuilding impact when it creates regular, structured contact between people from different backgrounds.

The Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, Dara Calleary TD, and Minister of State for Community Development, Charities and Rural Transport, Jerry Buttimer TD, welcomed the announcement. 

Minister Calleary said: “I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to all those who have played a role in promoting the Sport 4 Peace project. It fills me with great happiness that my Department of Rural and Community Development, and the Gaeltacht, in conjunction with the Special EU Programmes Body and The Executive Office in Northern Ireland, will continue to lend support to this exceptional initiative.

“By providing this essential funding, the Building Positive Relations Investment Area aims to foster positive relationships characterised by respect, foster social cohesion across community lines and build inclusive communities.”

Welcoming the PEACEPLUS funded project, SEUPB Chief Executive, Gina McIntyre said: “Sport 4 Peace is a very visible example of how PEACEPLUS is helping to build positive relations across our communities. By bringing together Ulster GAA, the Ulster Branch of the IRFU, the Irish Football Association and the Football Association of Ireland, this project will use sport to break down barriers, promote inclusion and create meaningful connections across Northern Ireland and the border counties.”

“With support from many partners, Sport 4 Peace will help people from all backgrounds come together in a spirit of respect and understanding, and I have every faith that it will be successful.”

Michael Geoghegan, Ulster GAA President, added: “Sport can be the common denominator to bring people together and create lasting community connections. The Sport 4 Peace programme will use this unifying power to provide opportunities to change the lives of young people from different backgrounds across the province. 

“I am therefore delighted that Ulster GAA is working with Ulster Rugby, the Irish FA and the FAI on this powerful collaboration project and look forward to it delivering many positive and long-lasting benefits to all of the participants over the next four years.”

FAI President Paul Cooke, commented: "The Football Association of Ireland is delighted to be involved with the Sport4Peace programme to provide more opportunities for children to enjoy playing football across the Ulster's nine counties. By working closely with other sporting bodies, we can have a meaningful impact and showcase the power of sport."

Ulster Rugby President, Paul Hart, said: “Sport has a unique ability to bring people together in ways that are meaningful, natural and lasting, and that is exactly what Sport 4 Peace is designed to do. By working in partnership across codes, communities and borders, this project moves beyond one-off initiatives and instead creates sustained opportunities for young people to build relationships, develop leadership skills and learn from one another.

“Ulster Rugby is proud to be part of a programme that recognises the real power of regular participation and shared experience. Through Sport 4 Peace, we can help create safe, inclusive spaces where differences are respected, connections are formed and communities are strengthened for the long term.”

Irish FA President, Conrad Kirkwood, said: “We are delighted once again to playing our part in the Sport4Peace programme, helping to create more opportunities for children and young people to enjoy football across the country. In a society too often shaped by historical division, sport has a proven ability to bring communities together, build mutual understanding and create shared experiences.

“By working in partnership with other sporting bodies, we can make a meaningful and lasting impact, demonstrating the positive and unifying power of football across our communities.”

The launch event gathered sporting leaders, partners and invited guests, and included a panel discussion on the power of sport to build positive community relations. It also featured a Game of Three Halves activity, where pupils from four Belfast primary schools took part in a shared session of Gaelic football, rugby and football. 

The schools, drawn from the first phase of the project, brought together children from different backgrounds in a practical demonstration of the programme’s aims. The activity was delivered by 10 Community Sport Development Officers (CSDOs) from the four sporting bodies, who will work collaboratively to deliver Sport 4 Peace across communities on a cross-border basis.

Sport 4 Peace will be delivered with the support of an extensive network of community, education, equality and statutory partners, and will operate in line with PEACEPLUS objectives to build peaceful and thriving communities by promoting positive relations, respect and inclusion.

Sport 4 Peace is a project supported by PEACEPLUS, a programme managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB).