From Taif to the World

UTS and ISSA Ignited a Bold New Chapter for Global Youth

From 11 to 13 September 2026, the eyes of the Islamic sporting world turned to Taif, Saudi Arabia, as leaders from across the Islamic Solidarity Sports Association (ISSA) gathered for its General Assembly. At the heart of this historic week: on 12 September, United Through Sports (UTS) President Stephan Fox stood with ISSA Secretary General Nasser Majali, to sign a Memorandum of Understanding, a defining moment that transformed a partnership first forged in 2022 into a shared mission for the future.

On paper, this was a three-year framework. In truth, it was far more impactful. It was a bold declaration that young people must not merely receive the benefits of sport, they must help decide where sport goes next.

A Partnership of Unmatched Global Reach

ISSA unites 57 nations under one banner of shared values, representing a community of nearly two billion people,  including an extraordinary 300 million young people. Its influence spans languages, traditions and cultures, giving it an unrivalled power to connect people through sport while honouring the identities that define them.

For UTS, this alliance is nothing short of transformative. It opens a direct line to young people across ISSA’s member countries a chance to listen, to learn, and to build programs rooted in the real experiences of the communities they serve. UTS brings its own hard-won expertise in youth leadership, education and inclusive sport, built on a simple but powerful belief: young people are not a passive audience waiting for adults to decide their future. They are partners,  with ideas, ambition and the drive to lead.

Together, UTS and ISSA fuse youth-led action with the extraordinary reach and cultural depth of the Islamic Solidarity movement. That fusion is the true strength of this partnership. It is not about exporting one template to every country,  it is about building programs that are inclusive, culturally respectful, and genuinely meaningful to the young people at their centre.

Nowhere is this ambition clearer than in the potential for the ISSA Young Leaders Program, supported by UTS,  a landmark initiative that will bring together at least one athlete from each of ISSA’s 57 member countries, united across every ability, nationality and background.

Picture it: 57 young leaders, each carrying a different story, united by one unshakeable belief, the power of sport to change lives. Every Young Leader will receive education and hands-on opportunity, building the confidence and skills to drive real, lasting change in their own community.

Each will be challenged to identify what matters most at home and to build their own social mission in response. What begins in a single school, sports club or federation carries the potential to ripple far beyond it,  across borders, across cultures, across generations.

“Sport has the power to create opportunities, build stronger communities and transform lives. Our partnership with United Through Sport brings together a shared commitment to turning that potential into meaningful and sustainable impact. We look forward to developing initiatives that empower young people, strengthen communities and create lasting value across our member countries.”

Nasser Majali, Secretary General, Islamic Solidarity Sports Association

From Dakar to Malaysia: A Journey Without Borders

This partnership will not live on paper,  it will come alive on the world’s biggest stages. At the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, UTS and ISSA will explore powerful new opportunities for young people from ISSA’s member countries to step into leadership roles and athlete engagement programmes. As the first Youth Olympic Games ever held on African soil, hosted by the proud Muslim-majority nation of Senegal, Dakar offers an unforgettable stage to turn shared values into shared action.

The momentum will build further at the UTS World Youth Festival Malaysia 2027, where UTS and ISSA will host an Islamic Solidarity Youth Conference. Young Leaders will not simply attend,  they will shape the conversation, bringing their own ideas and lived experience to urgent discussions on peace, leadership, and the role sport can play in their communities. All 57 ISSA member countries will be invited to join the conference and the wider festival, creating a rare and powerful gathering point for young people from across the Islamic world to meet, connect and learn from one another’s differences.

Looking further ahead, the Islamic Solidarity Games 2029 in Selangor, Malaysia, will provide yet another global platform for this growing alliance,  with school visits, an international youth forum, and UTS Learn and Discover activities all in discussion.

Through immersive experiences such as blind football and wheelchair basketball, young people will be invited to see the world through another person’s eyes. These moments are built to inspire joy,  but their true power runs deeper. They challenge assumptions, spark honest conversation, and show young people that inclusion is not something that happens to them. It is something they have the power to create.

More Than a Signature

The signing in Taif was far more than a formal handshake between two organisations. It was the next chapter of a relationship built since 2022, a clear, ambitious roadmap stretching from Taif to Dakar to Malaysia, and ultimately into communities across all 57 ISSA member countries. It was also a chance for UTS to deepen its understanding of the young people it exists to serve.

True international partnership demands more than sharing a room. It demands listening. It demands respect for cultural differences. And it demands building programmes with communities  never simply for them. That is precisely why this relationship with ISSA matters so profoundly to UTS. It bridges global reach with local understanding, connecting young people whose daily lives may look worlds apart, yet whose hopes for the future beat with the same heart.

As leaders gathered in Taif, this Memorandum of Understanding marked the beginning of an extraordinary new chapter. Its true measure will not be found in signatures on a page,  but in what follows: the young leaders who find their voice, the communities that grow stronger through their ideas, and the boundless possibility unlocked when two organisations choose to build something meaningful, together.