{"id":5781,"date":"2025-10-31T11:44:36","date_gmt":"2025-10-31T11:44:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.powershiftafrica.org\/blogs\/adapt2win-when-champions-turn-climate-warriorsnbsp"},"modified":"2026-10-28T09:49:40","modified_gmt":"2026-10-28T09:49:40","slug":"adapt2win-when-champions-turn-climate-warriorsnbsp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/blogs\/adapt2win-when-champions-turn-climate-warriorsnbsp\/","title":{"rendered":"Adapt2Win: When champions turn climate warriors"},"content":{"rendered":"
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As the world sprints toward COP30 in Bel\u00e9m, Brazil, one unlikely front has emerged in the race against climate change, and that is sport. It\u2019s where flooded football pitches, melting ski slopes, and parched running tracks tell a story no scoreboard can capture. And it\u2019s where the new global campaign, <\/em>Adapt2Win<\/em><\/strong>, is rallying athletes to use their star power to push for serious action on climate adaptation.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Spain\u2019s LaLiga to Kenya\u2019s Rift Valley, the climate crisis is redrawing the sporting map. In October 2024, flash floods tore through Valencia, drowning neighbourhoods and postponing Real Madrid\u2019s match against Valencia CF. In Brazil, record-breaking rains halted the top-tier Brasileir\u00e3o championship. And in the US state of Wisconsin, entire football programmes were forced to relocate after their pitches turned to swamps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other side of the spectrum, the heat is relentless. During the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, races began before dawn to beat temperatures that soared beyond 34\u00b0C. Sebastian Coe, the World Athletics President, protested, saying: \u201cGovernments have not stepped up to the plate. Sport will have to make unilateral decisions to protect athletes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And he was right. A recent study found that 14 of 16 World Cup venues already exceed safe-play heat thresholds. By 2050, up to 90% could be unsafe. Sport is losing its seasons, its balance, and its soul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Few places reveal this better than Kenya\u2019s Rift Valley. Here, in the cradle of champions and down the slopes of Iten, Kaptagat, and Eldoret, climate change is literally underfoot. The famous red clay roads are drying, cracking, and hardening, leaving runners nursing hip and knee injuries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cRunners are training earlier or later to avoid the sun, but the conditions are no longer ideal,\u201d said Prof Vincent Onywera of Kenyatta University, speaking to The Guardian<\/em>. \u201cIf young athletes are hungry, they won\u2019t run. If there\u2019s no water, they won\u2019t train.\u201d For a country that emits just 0.05% of global greenhouse gases, the irony is harsh. Kenya\u2019s runners, who are world beaters in every sense, now find themselves running for survival.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enter Adapt2Win<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is where Adapt2Win steps onto the field. Launched this week, the global campaign brings together elite athletes to demand urgent financing for climate adaptation. The numbers are staggering. In 2024 alone, climate disasters caused an estimated $417 billion in global losses, yet less than 10% of climate finance went to adaptation. The campaign\u2019s rallying cry is that the imbalance needs to be fixed before it\u2019s too late.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Adapt2Win\u2019s brilliance lies in its messengers. Backed by elite athletes from across the globe, including NBA player DeAndre Jordan, Brazilian big wave surfer Maya Gabeira, acclaimed ballerina Misty Copeland, professional footballer Raheem Sterling, Thai mixed martial artist Stamp Fairtex, Kenyan sprinter Ferdinand Omanyala, and more, the initiative demands urgent investment in innovative solutions that protect people, communities, and ecosystems from the accelerating impacts of climate change today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is supported by partners, including the Gates Foundation, Wellcome, Ban Ki-moon Centre, Global Citizen, Global Center on Adaptation (GCA), Power Shift Africa, Africa Group of Negotiators Expert Support (AGNES), PACJA, Africa Adaptation Initiative (AAI), Global Health Visions (GHV), TomorrowNow, Seed Global Health, Embrapa and A\u00e7\u00e3o da Cidadania. The campaign positions climate adaptation not as a discretionary choice, but as a bold driver of innovation, economic growth, resilience and opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFor me, this is personal. I was born in Jamaica, and I know how climate change is already reshaping life across the Caribbean, from stronger hurricanes to rising health risks,\u201d said Raheem Sterling. \u201cThrough my Foundation\u2019s work on mosquito-borne disease prevention, I\u2019ve seen how simple, community-led solutions can make a huge difference. COP30 is the moment for leaders to back those solutions with the resources we need to protect lives and give young people everywhere a chance to thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ana Toni, Chief Executive Officer of the 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference, said \u201c<\/strong>COP30 will be a pivotal moment for the world to come together and confront the realities of climate change\u201d, and that \u201cAdapt2Win highlights the urgency of adaptation and reminds us that every sector, from governments to business to sports, has a role to play in creating change. As host of COP30, Brazil is committed to ensuring adaptation is at the heart of the global climate agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adapting to climate change saves lives, but it\u2019s about more than just survival, noted Bill Gates, chair of the Gates Foundation, calling it an opportunity to invest in solutions that build resilience, drive innovation, and promote sustainable human development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adapt2Win takes its cues from sport itself: adapt, strategise, persevere. Athletes embody adaptation by nature, adjusting to altitude, fatigue, defeat, and pressure. The campaign taps into that ethos, framing climate resilience as the ultimate test of human endurance. When athletes talk about losing the fields, tracks, or seas that shaped them, the conversation shifts from data to emotion. It becomes personal, and that\u2019s the power of this strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Full List of Participating Athletes<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. Adaobi Tabugbo, Nigerian Track and Field Athlete <\/p><\/li>

  2. Beth Mead, British Footballer <\/p><\/li>

  3. Bongi Mbonambi, South African Rugby Player <\/p><\/li>

  4. Breanna Stewart, American Basketball Player <\/p><\/li>

  5. Danielle Alakija, Fijian Track and Field Athlete <\/p><\/li>

  6. David Edwards, Nigerian Tennis Player <\/p><\/li>

  7. David Popovici, Romanian Swimmer <\/p><\/li>

  8. DeAndre Jordan, American Basketball Player <\/p><\/li>

  9. Lijirin Doyinsola Modesayor, Nigerian Basketball Player <\/p><\/li>

  10. Ekta Bhyan, Indian Para Club Thrower <\/p><\/li>

  11. Esse Akida, Kenyan Footballer <\/p><\/li>

  12. Ferdinand Omanyala, Kenyan Track and Field Athlete <\/p><\/li>

  13. Grace Adhiambo Okulu, Kenyan Rugby Player <\/p><\/li>

  14. John Olu Okoth, Kenyan Rugby Player <\/p><\/li>

  15. Joy Juma, Kenyan Karate Athlete <\/p><\/li>

  16. Kenneth Omeruo, Nigerian Footballer <\/p><\/li>

  17. Kevin Wekesa, Kenyan Rugby Player <\/p><\/li>

  18. Laura Crane, British Big Wave Surfer <\/p><\/li>

  19. Lukhanyo Am, South African Rugby Player <\/p><\/li>

  20. Marylove Edwards, Nigerian Tennis Player <\/p><\/li>

  21. Maya Gabeira, Brazilian Big Wave Surfer <\/p><\/li>

  22. Mayar Sherif, Egyptian Tennis Player <\/p><\/li>

  23. Mike Buckley, American Sailor <\/p><\/li>

  24. Misty Copeland, American Ballet Dancer <\/p><\/li>

  25. Ox Nch\u00e9 South, African Rugby Player <\/p><\/li>

  26. Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Ghanaian Basketball Player <\/p><\/li>

  27. Raheem Sterling, British Footballer <\/p><\/li>

  28. Rasheedat Ajibade, Nigerian Footballer <\/p><\/li>

  29. Rena Wakama, Nigerian Basketball Coach <\/p><\/li>

  30. Samuel Asati, Kenyan Rugby Player <\/p><\/li>

  31. Seun Adigun, Nigerian Bobsled Athlete <\/p><\/li>

  32. Stamp Fairtex, Thai Mixed Martial Artist <\/p><\/li>

  33. Tamires Dias, Brazilian Footballer <\/p><\/li>

  34. Tierna Davidson, American Footballer <\/p><\/li>

  35. Tre Jones, American Basketball Player <\/p><\/li>

  36. Trevor Nyakane, South African Rugby Player <\/p><\/li>

  37. Tyson Juma, Kenyan Track and Field Athlete <\/p><\/li>

  38. Victor Boniface, Nigerian Footballer <\/p><\/li>

  39. Vivian Corazone Aquino, Kenyan Footballer <\/p><\/li>

  40. Keira Walsh, British Footballer <\/p><\/li>

  41. William Troost-Ekong, Nigerian Footballer <\/p><\/li><\/ol>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    As the world sprints toward COP30 in Bel\u00e9m, Brazil, one unlikely front has emerged in the race against climate change, and that is sport. It\u2019s where flooded football pitches, melting ski slopes, and parched running tracks tell a story no scoreboard can capture. And it\u2019s where the new global campaign, Adapt2Win , is rallying athletes to use their star power to push for serious action on climate adaptation.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":33,"featured_media":5782,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[28],"topic":[],"class_list":["post-5781","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-blogs","tag-adaptation"],"acf":{"url":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5781","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/33"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5781"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5781\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9563,"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5781\/revisions\/9563"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5782"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5781"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5781"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5781"},{"taxonomy":"topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/powershiftafrica.org\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/topic?post=5781"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}