10 April 2025 - Jabu Mtwa knows first-hand how important sport is for young people in South Africa. As a member of the 2023–2026 cohort of the International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s Young Leaders Programme, he’s fighting youth unemployment by equipping his peers to thrive in Africa’s growing sports industry. His initiative, the Ithuba Lethu Sports Hub, is part of a collective effort supported and promoted by the IOC to make a better world through sport, reflecting the spirit of the International Day of Sport for Development and Peace (IDSDP), celebrated every year on 6 April.
When Mtwa, a lifelong sports fan, co-founded a community football club in Johannesburg, South Africa, aged just 20, he not only witnessed how important sport was to so many young people, but also came face-to-face with the struggles they confronted in finding a job.
“A lot of the players would come to training every day, because they had nothing else to do, and were struggling with finances,” says Mtwa. “I took it upon myself to do more research and see how the African sports industry can act as a vehicle for job creation and youth employment.”
It led Mtwa to not only build a career as a sports business podcast host and expert in sport for development, but also launch his IOC Young Leaders project, the Ithuba Lethu Sports Hub, a sports-based non-profit organisation, by leveraging the immense potential of the continent's sports sector.
Through a series of educational programmes, mentorship initiatives and career development opportunities for school-age children and young adults, the Hub aims to increase awareness of the opportunities the sports industry provides and offer career development opportunities.
The Hub was officially launched in March 2025, and more than 60 young people attended two workshops, one on careers in sport and the other on personal branding.
THE MEETING OF SPORT AND OPPORTUNITY
“Youth unemployment rates are sky high in Africa, despite the fact that it is the fastest growing and youngest continent in the world, and the population is set to double by 2050,” explains Mtwa.
Coupled with a sports industry that is also set to expand rapidly over the coming years, he sees an opportunity for sport to play a significant role in tackling the continent’s youth unemployment crisis. “Playing and watching sport helps young people with the challenges that they face from joblessness, but there are also huge career opportunities in the non-playing side that many young people are not exposed to,” says Mtwa.
“Our vision is to empower Africa's next generation, harnessing the continent's booming sports sector as a catalyst for employment and career growth,” explains Mtwa. “We focus on equipping young people with the skills, knowledge and connections to thrive in the evolving sports industry and beyond.”
SECURING A FUTURE FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
Mtwa believes that sport is uniquely placed to address the challenges born out of the unemployment crisis facing young people in Africa.
Youth unemployment fuels crime, weakens social structures and slows economic development in general, but sport is an incredible language to get people together. A common love of sport is something we can leverage, an equaliser for young people in undeveloped communities. It’s not only an activity, but a platform from which you can teach life skills.
Jabu Mtwa, IOC Young Leader
Through career programmes, the Ithuba Lethu Sports Hub aims to leverage this potential. “We believe sport is a perfect vehicle for economic participation and youth empowerment. I think addressing this crisis is not just about job creation; it’s about securing Africa's future,” says Mtwa.
Sport has played an especially significant role in the South African context. “It’s more than just a game. It’s a unifier, an economic driver and most importantly a driver for social change,” says Mtwa. “Historically, it has played a powerful role in fostering national unity: take the 1995 Rugby World Cup, the 2010 FIFA World Cup, and the men’s 4x100m relay silver medal at Paris 2024.”
TURNING AN IDEA INTO REALITY WITH THE SUPPORT OF IOC YOUNG LEADERS PROGRAMME
Mtwa credits the IOC Young Leaders Programme with giving him the tools to make his idea a reality. “The mentorship, the training and the funding have provided invaluable support in bringing the Hub to life. It has given me the opportunity to gain global exposure to innovative sports for development models, while benefiting from expert-led sessions,” he says.
Mtwa has already partnered with the Nova Pioneer Education Group to help deliver the Hub’s workshops, and plans to expand the programme though further collaboration with sports education organisations: “The IOC Young Leaders Programme has enabled me to form lifelong relationships with people who share a commitment to leveraging sport for positive change. It’s connected me with a network of like-minded change makers and peers who are driving impact through sport.”
IOC YOUNG LEADERS PROGRAMME CONTRIBUTING TO OLYMPISM365 DAYS A YEAR
Launched in 2016, the IOC Young Leaders Programme empowers young people to leverage the power of sport to make a positive difference in their communities. The programme contributes to Olympism365, the IOC’s strategy to use sport as an important enabler of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
OLYMPISM365: SCALING UP SPORT'S CONTRIBUTION TO THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS
In his capacity as an IOC Young Leader, Mtwa will attend the Olympism365 Summit: Sport for a Better World, which will be held in Lausanne, Switzerland, from 3 to 5 June. In addition to IOC Young Leaders, the event will bring together representatives from the Olympic Movement, United Nations agencies, development and financing institutions, civil society, for-purpose business and safe sport community members who are working together to advance the UN SDGs through sport.
Mtwa feels the Summit will offer an invaluable chance for knowledge-sharing and collaboration in an uncertain era. “Sport for development is not immune to global trends: rapid advancements in AI, shifting geopolitical landscapes and economic uncertainty across the world,” he says. “That makes it even more critical to explore sustainable models for sport’s role in development. The Summit can serve as a catalyst for much needed cooperation between sectors.”
