- The FIA’s United Against Online Abuse campaign, supported by the FIA Foundation, has been awarded the prestigious ‘Coalition for Peace’ award at the 2024 Peace and Sport Forum.
- FIA President and UAOA Founder, Mohammed Ben Sulayem, accepted the award in recognition of the campaign’s groundbreaking achievements.
- This major accolade marks the beginning of UAOA’s next phase of development and expansion.
The United Against Online Abuse (UAOA) campaign, founded by FIA President Mohammed Ben Sulayem and supported by the FIA Foundation, has been recognised with Peace and Sport’s Coalition for Peace award for its pioneering efforts in tackling the growing issue of online abuse in sport.
The award, presented at the Peace and Sport Forum 2024 in Monaco, celebrates UAOA’s role in uniting the global sporting community, national governments, and regulators to drive meaningful change. As an international coalition, UAOA is honoured to be recognised for its extensive work convening the sporting and political world to bring about lasting change.
Since its launch in 2022, United Against Online Abuse has made significant strides and established itself as a collaborative, dynamic and proactive campaign. It has already secured partnerships with 27 international sporting federations, NGOs, and national governments, published 10 academic studies that have set a new global benchmark in the research of online abuse, launched a free educational module with over 150 participants, and sponsored four scholars at Dublin City University to further research the topic.
This Coalition for Peace award reflects the FIA’s leadership in founding and supporting UAOA which has rapidly become the leading voice in the fight against online abuse and hate speech in sport.
Mohammed Ben Sulayem, FIA President and UAOA Founder, said:
“I am incredibly proud of the rapid progress that United Against Online Abuse has made since I founded the campaign just two years ago. This prestigious award recognises the significant collaborative efforts already undertaken by the coalition to effectively research and address the harmful impact of online abuse that is adversely affecting the entire sporting landscape.
“We are committed to continuing the fight against the toxic online abuse that threatens the integrity and spirit of sports worldwide and I know that this award will serve as an important catalyst for the campaign as it enters the next phase of its development. Now more than ever, it is crucial that we show a united front and say: ‘no more’.”
UAOA continues to grow its coalition, welcoming new partners and publishing further research. Following a first of its kind survey of sports journalists, the inaugural Journalist Barometer will be released on 11thDecember, shedding light on the online abuse faced by media professionals. This will be followed by the Second Edition of the UAOA Barometer of Sporting Federations, which builds on the benchmark set by the first report released earlier this year.
The United Against Online Abuse campaign is a collaborative mission that convenes sporting organisations, national governments, regulatory institutions, and technology platforms, united as a global coalition to research and tackle online abuse within the sport ecosystem. As a research-driven, evidence-based initiative they publish regular reports and hold international events and forums as the leading global campaign in the fight against online abuse in sport.
Peace and Sport are an independent organisation which promotes peace using the power of sport. The Annual Forum, held in Monaco over 2nd – 3rd December 2024, included keynote speeches and a series of awards presented to individuals and organisations that have made remarkable efforts towards promoting peace, social stability, and dialogue through sports.
