ADAPT2WIN: WHEN CHAMPIONS TURN CLIMATE WARRIORS
As the world sprints toward COP30 in Belém, Brazil, one unlikely front has emerged in the race against climate change, and that is sport. It’s where flooded football pitches, melting ski slopes, and parched running tracks tell a story no scoreboard can capture. And it’s where the new global campaign, Adapt2Win, is rallying athletes to use their star power to push for serious action on climate adaptation.
From Spain’s LaLiga to Kenya’s Rift Valley, the climate crisis is redrawing the sporting map. In October 2024, flash floods tore through Valencia, drowning neighbourhoods and postponing Real Madrid’s match against Valencia CF. In Brazil, record-breaking rains halted the top-tier Brasileirão championship. And in the US state of Wisconsin, entire football programmes were forced to relocate after their pitches turned to swamps.
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°C. Sebastian Coe, the World Athletics President, protested, saying: “Governments have not stepped up to the plate. Sport will have to make unilateral decisions to protect athletes.”
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.
Few places reveal this better than Kenya’s 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.
“Runners are training earlier or later to avoid the sun, but the conditions are no longer ideal,” said Prof Vincent Onywera of Kenyatta University, speaking to The Guardian. “If young athletes are hungry, they won’t run. If there’s no water, they won’t train.” For a country that emits just 0.05% of global greenhouse gases, the irony is harsh. Kenya’s runners, who are world beaters in every sense, now find themselves running for survival.
Enter Adapt2Win
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’s rallying cry is that the imbalance needs to be fixed before it’s too late.
Adapt2Win’s 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.
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 Ação da Cidadania. The campaign positions climate adaptation not as a discretionary choice, but as a bold driver of innovation, economic growth, resilience and opportunity.
“For 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,” said Raheem Sterling. “Through my Foundation’s work on mosquito-borne disease prevention, I’ve 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.”
Ana Toni, Chief Executive Officer of the 2025 United Nations Climate Change Conference, said “COP30 will be a pivotal moment for the world to come together and confront the realities of climate change”, and that “Adapt2Win 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.”
Adapting to climate change saves lives, but it’s 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.
“Climate change is making it harder for people everywhere to live healthy, secure lives. Investing in adaptation is not only about protecting communities from today’s extreme weather, it’s about creating opportunities for a more resilient and sustainable future. By scaling up adaptation efforts now, we can help communities withstand growing climate risks and unlock the potential for lasting progress.”
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’s the power of this strategy.
Full List of Participating Athletes
Adaobi Tabugbo, Nigerian Track and Field Athlete
Beth Mead, British Footballer
Bongi Mbonambi, South African Rugby Player
Breanna Stewart, American Basketball Player
Danielle Alakija, Fijian Track and Field Athlete
David Edwards, Nigerian Tennis Player
David Popovici, Romanian Swimmer
DeAndre Jordan, American Basketball Player
Lijirin Doyinsola Modesayor, Nigerian Basketball Player
Ekta Bhyan, Indian Para Club Thrower
Esse Akida, Kenyan Footballer
Ferdinand Omanyala, Kenyan Track and Field Athlete
Grace Adhiambo Okulu, Kenyan Rugby Player
John Olu Okoth, Kenyan Rugby Player
Joy Juma, Kenyan Karate Athlete
Kenneth Omeruo, Nigerian Footballer
Kevin Wekesa, Kenyan Rugby Player
Laura Crane, British Big Wave Surfer
Lukhanyo Am, South African Rugby Player
Marylove Edwards, Nigerian Tennis Player
Maya Gabeira, Brazilian Big Wave Surfer
Mayar Sherif, Egyptian Tennis Player
Mike Buckley, American Sailor
Misty Copeland, American Ballet Dancer
Ox Nché South, African Rugby Player
Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Ghanaian Basketball Player
Raheem Sterling, British Footballer
Rasheedat Ajibade, Nigerian Footballer
Rena Wakama, Nigerian Basketball Coach
Samuel Asati, Kenyan Rugby Player
Seun Adigun, Nigerian Bobsled Athlete
Stamp Fairtex, Thai Mixed Martial Artist
Tamires Dias, Brazilian Footballer
Tierna Davidson, American Footballer
Tre Jones, American Basketball Player
Trevor Nyakane, South African Rugby Player
Tyson Juma, Kenyan Track and Field Athlete
Victor Boniface, Nigerian Footballer
Vivian Corazone Aquino, Kenyan Footballer
Keira Walsh, British Footballer
William Troost-Ekong, Nigerian Footballer