The potential of sport-based approaches to contribute to wide-ranging development outcomes has been recognised across international policy declarations, most significantly in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. To realise this potential, it is essential to develop coherence between Sport for Development and Peace (SDP)-oriented policy within a national and international policy framework.

This report provides analysis of the alignment of national sport policy with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and will feed into the monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of the contribution of national sport policies to the achievement of national development priorities and the SDGs. We apply a policy-focused theoretical lens to map the alignment of established, publicly available national sport policy documents – including overarching sport policy, strategy, frameworks and operational policies – to the SDGs. In addition to this mapping exercise, we also seek to identify the intentionality for future action both within these documents, and via qualitative interviews with policy makers and implementers.

This report is a response to commitments made at the International Conference of Ministers and Senior Officials Responsible for Physical Education and Sport (MINEPS) VI, in the United Nations Action Plan on Sport for Development and Peace 2018–2020 and at the 9th Commonwealth Sports Ministers Meeting. This report and the associated sport policy SDG dashboard aim to directly inform these and other international efforts to align local, national and international sport policies and programs with the SDGs, with the aim of maximising the contribution of all stakeholders to the SDGs and associated national priorities.