Who We Are

We are a global coalition of nine leading rights organizations using the power of sport to advance rights into the very fabric of society. Established in 2015, we exist to promote the rights and well-being of those most affected by sport and to bring about a world where sport is an authentic force for good.

A global coalition to change the game

The Sport & Rights Alliance is an unprecedented global coalition of leading NGOs and trade unions working together to embed human rights and anti-corruption across world sport. 

Founded in early 2015, we exist to promote the rights and well-being of those most affected by the negative impacts of sport. We use our collective influence to pressure global sports bodies to ensure their decision-making and operations respect international standards for human rights, labour rights, and anti-corruption, in accordance with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

Secretariat

Andrea Florence – Director

Andrea is an international human rights lawyer, researcher and campaigner dedicated to movement building. As the Director of the Sport & Rights Alliance, Andrea is responsible for ensuring the combined strength, representation and expertise of global civil society and trade union organizations working to advance human rights in world sport are harnessed, organized and amplified. Previously, Andrea led World Players Association’s Census of Athlete Rights Experience (CARE), the first global study to look at elite athletes’ experiences as children in sport.


Andrea has spearheaded global human rights actions as Campaigns Coordinator at Amnesty International and supported uncovering child abuse around Mega Sporting Events during the Children Win campaign at Terre des Hommes International Federation. She holds a Master in International Law by the Graduate Institute in Geneva, a Certificate of Advanced Studies in Human Rights by the University of Zurich and a Masters specialization at Université Paris I-Sorbonne.


She received her Law Degree from the Pontifícia Universidade Católica de São Paulo and is a certified lawyer in São Paulo (Brazil). Andrea speaks Portuguese, English, French, Spanish and German.

Joanna Maranhão – Network Coordinator

Joanna is a Brazilian Olympian, survivor, advocate and researcher, and the coordinator of the Athletes Network for Safer Sports. As a professional swimmer, Joanna specialized in individual medley and distance events, participating in four Olympic Games and winning eight medals at the Pan American Games.


As Network Coordinator at the Sport & Rights Alliance, Joanna is responsible to foster global connection, collaboration and mobilization between athletes and allies impacted by abuse in sport. Previously, Joanna led the campaign to expand Brazil’s statutes of limitation to allow survivors of child sexual abuse more time to report and seek justice, succeeding in establishing a new law, which bears her name (the Joanna Maranhão Law).


She holds a Master of Sports Ethics and Integrity from the University of Leuven in Belgium, and a Bachelor in Physical Education from Faculdade Maurício de Nassau in Brazil. Joanna speaks Portuguese, English and Spanish.

Rachel Causey – Communications Coordinator

Rachel is the Communications Coordinator for the Sport & Rights Alliance, where she leads the organization’s communications strategy, media work and content development. Passionate about ethical storytelling and the power of language, Rachel is responsible for all website, social media and advocacy communications.


Before coming to the SRA, Rachel worked as a strategy and content lead for creative marketing agency The Starr Conspiracy and also has previous experience working in non-profit communications, most notably for International Justice Mission (IJM) in Manila, Philippines, and World Relief Fort Worth.


She holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Texas Christian University (TCU) and a Master of International Affairs in human rights policy and communications at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA). Rachel speaks English and French.

Victoria Andreoli – Graphic Designer

Victoria is a graphic designer and illustrator. As Designer for the Sport & Rights Alliance, Victoria’s work is multidisciplinary, ranging from digital design, branding, and editorial. She has 10 years of broad experience in the area of consumer behavior and trends research, working along with agencies and major brands from around the world.


As an independent designer, Victoria has had the opportunity to work with many different projects — expanding the scope of design beyond aesthetics and bringing a strategic and sensible vision to help brands find their place in the market.


In addition to the corporate area, Victoria has worked with artists and events as an art director, set designer, and visual artist. Victoria holds a degree in Industrial Design from Mackenzie University São Paulo. Victoria speaks Portuguese, English and Spanish.

Core partners

Each of our nine Core Partners brings specific expertise and experience in human rights, labor rights, child wellbeing and transparency in sport. Their representatives form the operational leadership of the SRA and are responsible for implementing our strategy.

Steve Cockburn

Head of Labour Rights and Sport

Lisa Salza

Campaigner, Sports and Human Rights

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Amnesty International leverages the public interest in sport to broaden public awareness and support for their human rights causes, and highlights the human rights responsibilities of sporting bodies under the UNGPs. Amnesty has witnessed the increased in human rights violations and abuses when mega sporting events are organized, including the suppression of freedom of expression, forcible evictions and the exploitation of migrant workers, as well as attempts by states to “sportswash” their human rights records. Amnesty also recognizes sport can be a powerful force for change.

Gypsy Guillén Kaiser

Advocacy and Communications Director

Amelia Evans

Deputy Advocacy Director

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The Committee to Protect Journalists leverages public interest in sport to draw attention to press freedom violations around sports and mega sporting events, including cases where journalists are censored or prevented from reporting important stories about these events, and in the countries hosting them. Beyond censorship of individual journalists, preventing critical coverage denies the public access to vitally important information. In addition, sporting events provide a rare opportunity to bring international pressure on behalf of journalists in countries that may have poor records of supporting press freedom or where the governments have not been responding to other forms of advocacy. 

Julie Ann Rivers-Cochran

Executive Director

Kacey Long

Director of Programs

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The Army of Survivors is a non-profit organization whose mission is to bring awareness, accountability and transparency to sexual violence against athletes. Created by a group of more than 40 athlete survivors of sexual violence, The Army of Survivors is the only national organization advocating for and supporting child athlete survivors of sexual violence through resources, advocacy and education.

Ronan Evain

Executive Director

Martin Endemann

Head of Policy

Joe White

Board Member

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Football Supporters Europe (FSE) has drawn attention to discrimination, racist abuse, policing, police violence and discrimination against fans and supporters with disabilities. A key area of focus for FSE is to establish remedy for fans affected by sexual and gender-based violence and discrimination in football. Inclusion of human rights in Article 3 in the FIFA statutes represented a key win, meaning that FSE can now hold FIFA accountable for the human rights of fans as well.

Gurchaten (Nanoo) Sandhu

Director of Programmes

Lily Dong Li Rosengard

Senior Officer on Gender Identity & Gender Expression

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ILGA World has identified sport as a place where people feel excluded, shamed and bullied. Sports is also a strategic opportunity to promote change in very conservative and closed countries. For ILGA, sports acts as a microcosm of the more conservative and bigoted part of societies, excluding ILGA communities from accessing the may benefits of sport, either as spectators or participants in terms of finding respect.

Minky Worden

Director of Global Initiatives

Katherine La Puente

Coordinator, Children’s Rights Division

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Human Rights Watch conducts on-the-ground research in more than 100 countries, documenting abuses of human rights in sport for more than two decades. Using research and survivor testimony, Human Rights Watch informs, advocates and pressures governments, policy makers, companies, and sport governing bodies such as the IOC and FIFA to adopt, entrench and implement international human rights. Recent reports document worker deaths and wage-cheating in stadium construction, anti-LGBT discrimination in sport, violations of gender equality and press freedom, crimes against humanity by Olympic hosts, corporal punishment of child athletes in training, and sexual abuse of women and girls in football federations.

Todd Brogan

Director of Campaigns & Organising

Diana Maggiore

Global Campaigns Coordinator

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The ITUC has long sought to change the rules of the global economy. Sport has played a key role to drive home its message from exposing corrupt governance, abuses in sports supply chains, labour and child rights violations in nations hosting mega sporting events, exploitation of migrant construction workers to child labour. For the ITUC, Qatar was a breakthrough and an example of what can be achieved in the future.

Sylvia Schenk

Chair, Working Group on Sport

Jorge Leyva

Member, Working Group on Sport

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Transparency International has exposed the corruption in sport and the management malpractices that have characterized sports administration. Its report on Global Corruption in Sport (2016) confirmed that ordinary people are losing faith in those who run sport. From poor governance and match fixing to bribery, money laundering, and “sextortion” (including of minors), the many faces of corruption threaten the values of sport that attract billions of people to watch and engage in sport. Sports organisations must be open about how they operate, the money they make, and how they spend it.

Ginous ‘Gigi’ Alford

Director of Sport and Human Rights

Matthew Graham

Head of World Players

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World Players is the leading voice of organised players in the governance of world sport. It brings together 85,000 players across professional sport through more than 100 players associations in over 60 countries. World Players affiliates have an unparalleled track record of embedding the human rights of players in sports through collective bargaining and ensuring access to effective remedy for players. World Players is committed to the implementation of the Universal Declaration of Player Rights (UDPR) and to ensure child athletes rights are promoted, respected and protected through Project CARE.

Strategic partners

Our strategic partners assist with campaigns and initiatives on specific topics, regions or events and are part of the wider group of the sport and rights movement.

Our
financials

The Sport & Rights Alliance is hosted by the World Players Association, a structurally autonomous sector of UNI Global Union. We are supported by contributions from private organizations and foundations worldwide. Our core partners also provide in-kind contributions through their deep expertise and deft leadership. The Sport & Rights Alliance does not solicit or accept donations by governments, directly or indirectly.

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