ChildFund Rugby Ambassador Coumba Diallo to join European Parliament event marking International Day of Play
31 May 2026
BRUSSELS, BELGIUM | 2 June 2026 - Former France international rugby player and ChildFund Rugby Ambassador Coumba Diallo will join European leaders, policymakers, and child rights advocates at the European Parliament this week for an event marking the International Day of Play.
Hosted by MEP Maria Guzenina, with support from European Parliament Vice-President Ewa Kopacz, the event will explore the role of play in children’s learning, wellbeing, inclusion, and rights around the world.
Recognised by the United Nations as a fundamental right of every child, play is increasingly viewed as an essential contributor to learning, wellbeing, inclusion, and healthy development. ChildFund Rugby’s contribution to the event will explore how sport can provide a structured environment through which those benefits can be delivered at scale.
ChildFund Rugby will present Pass It Back, its integrated rugby and life skills curriculum delivered through ChildFund Rugby’s global social impact partnership with World Rugby and in collaboration with national rugby federations and rugby stakeholders globally.
Pass It Back uses rugby as a form of structured play to help children and young people build social and emotional skills, confidence, leadership, peer connection, and understanding of gender equality. Since 2015, more than 85,000 player registrations have been recorded through Pass It Back, with girls representing more than half of all registrations.
The invitation reflects growing recognition that sport can contribute to broader social outcomes when it is intentionally designed, safely delivered, and embedded within strong community and federation systems.
The event also comes at a time of growing momentum across the global rugby landscape ahead of Rugby World Cups 2027 and 2029 in Australia, where ChildFund Rugby will work with World Rugby and rugby stakeholders to support social impact beyond the pitch, building on Rugby World Cup 2023 in France, and Rugby World Cup 2025 in England.
Diallo will speak about her experience visiting Pass It Back delivery in Laos, where she saw how rugby can create safe and supportive environments for young people, particularly girls.
“What struck me most in Laos was seeing young people learning through rugby in a completely different way,” said Diallo. “It wasn’t only about sport. It was about confidence, teamwork, communication, leadership, and creating spaces where girls felt seen, supported, and able to participate.
“Athletes and federations have a real opportunity to use rugby differently, especially around major events like Rugby World Cups. When players, federations, and communities come together around this kind of work, sport can become a powerful platform for inclusion, wellbeing, and opportunity for young people.”
Her participation also reflects the growing role athletes can play in raising awareness, mobilising partners, and connecting global audiences to the experiences of young people and communities around the world.
ChildFund Rugby currently partners across Africa, Asia, Oceania, Europe, and the Pacific, supporting national federations to integrate community-based rugby initiatives that combine sport and life skills learning within rugby systems.
In Laos, where Diallo visited Pass It Back delivery, more than 20,000 young people have participated in the curriculum across four provinces since activities began in 2012. Players have demonstrated improvements in social and emotional learning, confidence, peer support, and understanding of healthy relationships.
In Madagascar, Pass It Back helped build community acceptance of girls’ participation in rugby in areas where the sport had traditionally been viewed as male-only. By the second season, parents who had initially resisted girls joining activities were asking when sessions would return so their daughters could participate again.
In Türkiye, following the devastating 2023 earthquakes, Pass It Back Recovery supported nearly 1,000 young people in Adıyaman through integrated rugby and life skills learning designed to strengthen social connection, confidence, and emotional recovery. One parent reflected that rugby had “helped Hatice [their daughter], hold onto life again” following the trauma of the earthquakes.
Meg Knight, Co-Director of ChildFund Rugby, said the organisation’s approach is grounded in the belief that sport, as a form of structured play, can contribute to positive outcomes when it is intentionally designed and safely delivered.
“Play matters deeply for children and young people, but the quality and structure of those experiences also matter,” Knight said.
“Through partnerships with rugby federations, Pass It Back combines rugby with social and emotional learning, gender equality learning, safeguarding approaches, and leadership pathways. Rugby becomes more than a game. It becomes a platform where young people can build confidence, relationships, communication skills, and belief in themselves and others.”
The European Parliament event comes as rugby stakeholders increasingly explore how major sports events, athlete leadership, and international partnerships can create long-term social impact beyond competition, particularly in areas linked to youth wellbeing, gender equality, inclusion, leadership, and community development.
About ChildFund Rugby
ChildFund Rugby, World Rugby’s global Social Impact Partner, is a dedicated Sport for Development team, committed to harnessing the power of rugby to drive positive social impact.
ChildFund Rugby collaborates with rugby partners globally to provide children and young people with opportunities to play, learn and lead. Through integrated rugby and life skills learning, young people in vulnerable situations develop critical social and emotional skills, which help them achieve personal goals, build empathy, manage emotions, develop positive relationships, and make responsible decisions.
ChildFund Rugby is led by the ChildFund Alliance – a global network of 10 organisations working with partners in more than 60 countries, impacting nearly 30 million children in vulnerable situations.
Media Contact
For media enquiries, interviews, or further information, please contact:
Linh Truong, Communications and Content Officer | linh@childfundrugby.org | +84 905 73 24 37 (Whatsapp)