The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has pledged its support for a new campaign by Mission 89 to tackle the growing use of sport as a cover for child trafficking.
IOM has joined Mission 89 to launch The Line We Don’t Cross, a global initiative aimed at ending child exploitation in sport and safeguarding young athletes’ dreams from abuse.
“No child should be trafficked under the guise of sport,” said IOM Deputy Director General for Operations, Ugochi Daniels.
Mission 89, a research and advocacy organisation committed to fighting the exploitation of young athletes, is working to expose how traffickers increasingly use sport to target children, turning dreams of athletic success into channels for abuse.
“Sport should be a source of joy and achievement, not a gateway to exploitation,” Daniels added.
“Yet traffickers prey on the ambitions of young athletes, using false promises to lure them into abuse and deception. Through this campaign, we aim tostrengthen protection measures, integrate safeguards into recruitment systems, and ensure that children are safe both on and off the field.”
The campaign seeks to counter a darker side of the multi-billion-dollar sports industry by eradicating child trafficking through sport. It will also highlight structural vulnerabilities in the industry, which is valued between $471 billion and $1.4 trillion.
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Founder and Executive Director of Mission 89, Lerina Bright, noted that unethical recruitment practices and inadequate safeguarding systems often create opportunities for human traffickers, particularly targeting children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
“While we continue to celebrate the power of sport, we cannot ignore the risks faced by young athletes,” Bright said.
“This campaign is about ensuring that every child who dreams through sport is safe, supported, and never exploited.”
Globally, an estimated 50 million people are subjected to trafficking-related abuses, with children making up 38 per cent of the victims. Of these children, 11 per cent are trafficked through false promises.
In sport, these false promises can take the form of offers to join fake academies or sign contracts that appear to be professional but are fraudulent.
For many young people, sport offers a potential escape from disadvantaged circumstances, particularly when aspiring to join international professional leagues. However, these same aspirations — combined with their backgrounds can make them highly vulnerable to traffickers’ deceit, the campaign warns.
Working alongside Mission 89, the IOM is calling on stakeholders in the sports industry to strengthen protection mechanisms, reform unethical recruitment practices, and provide education across the sector about the risks and consequences of trafficking.
The campaign is also urging industry leaders to sign formal commitments declaring zero tolerance for child trafficking.
