More than a campaign built around elite footballers, the initiative represents a wider humanitarian message about the role sport can play in protection, healing, belonging and opportunity for displaced children and young people around the world.

At a time when global forced displacement has surpassed 117 million people — including almost 49 million children — the campaign seeks to place human stories at the centre of one of the world’s biggest sporting moments.

Footballers Whose Journeys Began with Displacement

Captained by UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador and Canada Men’s National Team captain Alphonso Davies, the Gamechanging Team brings together players who have overcome extraordinary circumstances to reach the highest levels of world football.

Davies was born in a refugee camp in Ghana after his parents fled civil war in Liberia before eventually being resettled in Canada. Germany international Antonio Rüdiger also features prominently in the campaign, with his parents having fled conflict in Sierra Leone before settling in Germany.

The wider line-up includes players from across Europe and North America, including Asmir Begović of Leicester City FC, Ali Al-Hamadi of Luton Town FC, Real Madrid midfielder Eduardo Camavinga, Victor Moses, Mohamed Touré, Awer Mabil, Nestory Irankunda, Bernard Kamungo and Ermedin Demirović.

Collectively, the squad demonstrates how access to safety, support systems and opportunity can fundamentally transform lives.

Speaking as captain of the symbolic side, Davies said:

“It’s so special to lead UNHCR’s Gamechanging Team – a team of players whose childhoods have all been touched by war and displacement. We show what is possible when kids find safety and opportunity. In times like these, I hope we can bring hope and a belief that no matter how hard the road is, you can always overcome it.”

Harnessing the Global Spotlight of the World Cup

With the expanded FIFA 2026 World Cup across Canada, Mexico and the United States expected to attract unprecedented global audiences, UNHCR is strategically using football’s visibility to humanise the realities of displacement and challenge perceptions surrounding refugees.

The campaign launches with a short social media film using AI-assisted creative production to juxtapose childhood and present-day versions of the players, visually reinforcing the journeys from displacement to elite sport.

Later this month, sports artist and human rights activist Carling Jackson will release a special artwork depicting the full line-up alongside younger versions of themselves, reinforcing the campaign’s central message: that children forced to flee still possess immense potential when given protection and opportunity.

The initiative also aligns with UNHCR’s growing use of digital storytelling and social media amplification across a wide range of platforms.

Sport as Protection, Healing and Inclusion

Beyond the symbolism of elite footballers, the campaign also shines a light on UNHCR’s wider “Sport for Protection” (S4P) programmes operating globally.

These initiatives use structured sport not simply as recreation, but as a mechanism for protection, social cohesion, trauma recovery and inclusion for displaced young people and host communities.

UNHCR and its implementing partners currently operate multi-year sport projects in more than 15 countries, directly engaging over 70,000 displaced people and members of host communities.

The programmes span refugee camps, settlements and urban environments in countries including Uganda, Kenya, Chad, Bangladesh, Lebanon, Ecuador, Mexico and Burkina Faso.

Activities range from safe play spaces and football sessions to coach education, safeguarding, mental wellbeing support and awareness programmes linked to protection services and human rights.

Rüdiger highlighted the broader responsibility many players feel to create impact beyond football itself.

“My parents came to Germany from Sierra Leone to seek safety and a better future. Now, representing Germany is a full-circle moment for me. It is something I carry with great pride. It also comes with a responsibility: to give my best on the pitch, and to create meaningful impact beyond it.”

He added:

“Because every child deserves the chance to grow, to dream, and to succeed.”

A Wider Message to Football and Society

At its core, the Gamechanging Team campaign positions refugees not as burdens, but as individuals with talent, ambition and potential that can flourish when societies provide safety, welcome and opportunity.

The initiative also arrives during increasing scrutiny of football’s broader social role ahead of the FIFA World Cup, with governing bodies, clubs and major tournaments increasingly expected to demonstrate measurable social impact alongside commercial success.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Barham Salih said:

“This summer marks the biggest World Cup ever. It is an ideal moment for UNHCR’s Gamechanging Team to send a message of hope to fans all over the world. Each team member has overcome adversity to achieve their dreams, and they are a powerful reminder of just what young, displaced people can achieve when they find safety and are given opportunities.”

The campaign highlights the growing intersection between sport, human rights, inclusion and long-term societal impact — areas increasingly central to the future sustainability agenda across global sport.

At a time when football commands unprecedented global reach and influence, UNHCR’s Gamechanging Team demonstrates how sport can move beyond entertainment to become a platform for protection, dignity and hope.

And as the world turns its attention towards the FIFA 2026 World Cup, the message behind the campaign is clear: when displaced children are given safety and opportunity, their potential can become unstoppable.