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From groundbreaking investments in women’s sports to powerful youth-led movements and community programs shifting what access and inclusion look like, 2025 was a year defined by momentum. Our most-read stories reflected that energy with gender equity pieces leading the way — spotlighting the individuals, organizations and ideas that reshaped sport for good around the world.
Click on the titles below to read the top 10 stories from this year.
- MLB Invests in a New Professional Women’s Softball League
A major investment from MLB helped launch a new pro women’s softball league, marking a historic commitment to expanding opportunities for women in sport.
- Play Without Pause Report Tackles Period Stigma in Indian Sports
A new report revealed how menstrual stigma limited girls’ participation across India and highlighted athlete-driven solutions to keep them in sport.
- Judy Murray’s Learn to Lead Initiative Inspires Girls to Stay in Sport
Mother of tennis great Andy Murray, Judy Murray launched a leadership-through-sport program designed to build girls’ confidence, agency and long-term engagement in physical activity.
- Olympic Refuge Foundation Unveils Plans to Support Displaced Youth
The Olympic Refuge Foundation announced new global initiatives to use sport as a pathway to belonging, safety and opportunity for displaced young people.
- ESPN Announces 2025 Billie Jean King Youth Leadership Award Honorees
In July, ESPN celebrated a new class of young leaders who are using sport to drive change in their communities through the Billie Jean King Youth Leadership Award. The Award was presented in Los Angeles as part of ESPN’s 2025 Sports Humanitarian Awards. (Beyond Sport manages the application process and facilitates the selection phase of the Billie Jean King Youth Leadership Award program.) - Harlem Lacrosse Los Angeles Helping Students Aim High Through Education & Lacrosse
Head In the Game grantee Harlem Lacrosse LA expanded its school-based model to help young Angelenos build academic confidence, life skills and supportive relationships through the game.
- Malala Yousafzai Launches Recess to Champion Women’s Sports Globally
Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai unveiled Recess, a global campaign calling for greater visibility, investment and equity across women’s sports.
- Beyond Sport Releases 2024 Impact Report
Our 2024 Impact Report highlighted how our partners, programs and communities worldwide advanced equity, wellbeing and systems-level change through sport.
- Yale’s Female Athlete Program Addresses Women’s Sports Injuries
Yale researchers and clinicians launched a program dedicated to better understanding, preventing and treating the unique injuries women athletes faced.
- Saltwater Sistas Connecting Indigenous Girls to Surfing Culture
Saltwater Sistas is helping Indigenous girls in New South Wales, Australia build cultural pride, environmental knowledge, ocean confidence and community through surfing.
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