From player to leader: Lao Rugby’s Lailor joins global conversations at Women Deliver 2026

Lailor began her rugby journey at 11. Now 22, she is a World Rugby Level 2 Coach with the Lao Rugby Federation (LRF), mentoring the next generation and she will soon be sharing her story at Women Deliver 2026 in Melbourne, Australia.

Growing through the game

Lailor’s journey began with Pass It Back, the integrated rugby and life skills initiative first piloted in Laos by the LRF more than a decade ago.

She moved from Pass It Back player to Pass It Back Coach at just 14, and now supports and mentors young Coaches with the LRF who deliver learning through Pass It Back across their communities.

Since its beginnings, Pass It Back has reached nearly 90,000 player registrations and over 3,000 coach accreditations across 15 countries. More than half of participants are girls and young women.

Creating space for girls to lead

Through her work, Lailor helps create safe, inclusive spaces where girls and young women can build confidence, leadership and life skills.

In communities where opportunities for girls can be limited, these spaces offer a place to connect, grow and challenge expectations about what girls can and should do.

From community pitches to the global stage

Early next week, Lailor will take part in Women Deliver 2026, one of the world’s leading global gatherings on gender equality. She has been invited by Women Win, who are working to move sport from the margins to the centre of global gender equality conversations by embedding it across the conference as a cross-cutting approach to gender justice, leadership and collective action.

On Tuesday 28 April, Lailor will contribute to “The Playing Field Is Political: How Sport Builds Feminist Power,” a participatory session convened by Women Win. The session brings together grassroots leaders and practitioners to explore how sport creates safe spaces, shifts harmful norms, and builds collective power across issues including gender-based violence, youth leadership and rights.

As part of this, Lailor will share her experience from Laos, highlighting how community rugby initiatives like Pass It Back are supporting girls’ leadership, creating safe spaces and contributing to change at the community level.

She will also contribute to Sport Delivers Connection, a youth-centred activation co-facilitated with Women Win, using interactive, sport-based approaches to explore leadership, safety and gender equality through lived experience.

Leading the next generation

Through her role with LRF, Lailor is part of a National Governing Body that is growing the game from the grassroots up, creating pathways for young people to move from community rugby into sustained participation and leadership in sport and beyond.

In Laos, the LRF independently use Pass It Back as a core part of its Champa Ban youth rugby initiative, embedding life skills, values and leadership into how the game is taught and experienced.

By mentoring young Coaches, Lailor is helping strengthen this system, ensuring that more girls have access to safe, inclusive spaces and positive role models, both on and off the field.

As more young women step into coaching and leadership roles, the impact extends beyond rugby, building confidence, expanding opportunities and creating pathways for the next generation.

Explore more stories of girls and young women leading through sport.

Support the next generation of Pass It Back

The next phase of Pass It Back depends on collective action.

By donating today, supporters can directly contribute to delivering future seasons of Pass It Back ensuring that more young people around the world have access to the opportunities, skills and support that rugby can provide.

Donate today to help power the next generation through rugby.