Doha, Qatar: A comprehensive global study released by the Unesco Chair on Governance and Social Responsibility in Sport at Hamad Bin Khalifa University (HBKU) has mapped the structures and functions of women-in-sport organisations worldwide, revealing significant gaps that present strategic opportunities for Qatar and the Middle East region.
Titled A Global Mapping on Women-in-Sport Organizations: Structures, Functions, and Gaps, this research comes at a critical juncture as Qatar has formally declared its interest in bidding for the 2036 Olympic and Paralympic Games, making progress in women’s sport both essential and strategically significant. Led by Dr. Christos Anagnostopoulos, Unesco Chairholder on Governance and Social Responsibility in Sport, and Associate Professor in Sport Management at HBKU’s College of Science and Engineering (CSE), and co-authored by graduate student researchers Ghada Mohammed Al-Emadi, Ghada Ali Al-Qashouti, and Rouda Ibrahim Al-Meghaiseeb, the study identified and examined 39 women-focused sport organisations across eight global regions through a desk-based qualitative benchmarking research design. Rather than measuring program performance, the analysis focused on organisational structure, strategic orientation, and institutional positioning to enable systematic comparison across diverse international contexts.
“This report does not begin with the assumption that participation alone is sufficient, nor does it treat leadership as an isolated endpoint,” said Dr. Anagnostopoulos.
“Instead, it seeks to understand how women-in-sport initiatives are structured globally, what functions they prioritize, and where systemic gaps remain. I hope it encourages a shift from fragmented initiatives toward integrated, system-level thinking, at a moment when such reflection is both timely and consequential.”
Researchers analysed data from official reports and documents to group organizations into two categories, institutional anchor and primary function. This enabled the team to differentiate between academic hubs and NGOs, while identifying whether their contributions fall within advocacy, workforce training, or system coordination.
The findings reveal a highly uneven global distribution, with Europe and North America dominating the landscape, while the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) remain significantly underrepresented. More critically, the analysis identifies a pronounced structural imbalance: while participation-focused initiatives are comparatively well-represented, particularly within government-embedded structures, system-level coordination and workforce pathways, especially coaching and officiating, are severely underdeveloped.
Fragmentation among research, advocacy, and delivery functions also emerged as a key concern, with leadership development initiatives often operating in isolation rather than as part of structured progression pathways. Integrated models combining these functions remain rare, particularly in emerging regions, including MENA.
In response to these gaps, five strategic recommendations emphasise system design over programme expansion. Any national women-in-sport centre or hub should prioritise system-level coordination, complementing existing participation initiatives and enhancing coherence across grassroots, elite, and governance domains in collaboration with the Qatar Olympic Committee and Qatar Women’s Sport Committee. Structured workforce pathways for women in coaching and officiating are foundational to sustainable women’s sport systems.
“This intermediate layer would enhance the sustainability of participation initiatives and reinforce progression toward leadership and governance roles,” the authors note.
