Cork’s Sanctuary Runners win top global award for refugee integration through sport

Cork’s Sanctuary Runners were named the world’s best community sports initiative for refugee integration at the ISCA Awards in Denmark

Graham Clifford, founder and head of international development at Sanctuary Runners, collects the award from Stephen Reynard, Global Lead of sport programming at UNHCR at the ISCA Awards, 2025 in Copenhagen.

A Cork-based organisation has won a major international award in Denmark for its solidarity-through-sport initiative.

Sanctuary Runners, founded in 2018 by former journalist Graham Clifford, received the top honour at the International Sport and Culture Association (ISCA) Awards in Copenhagen — the world’s leading event celebrating sport for social impact.

The group was named the world’s best community sports initiative for refugee integration, recognised for bringing people of all backgrounds together through running and shared activity.

After a global entry call, Sanctuary Runners was named a finalist alongside Cheza Sports Organisation from Uganda and Fédération Sportive et Gymnique du Travail, a French group working with children in Palestine’s West Bank.

Accepting the award, crafted from Lego by local Danish schoolchildren, Mr Clifford paid tribute to the tens of thousands who have joined the Sanctuary Runners over the years.

“We started small back in 2018 and thought if we could get a team of 200 people made up of locals and people who have moved to Ireland from other countries in that year’s Cork City Marathon, it would be mission accomplished – little did we know the appetite for our model,” he said.

Since then, the movement has grown to 40 active groups across Ireland, with plans to expand into Britain. 

Earlier this month, its Global Solidarity Run saw participants donning the group’s signature blue in 100 countries worldwide.

Mr Clifford said the award comes at an important time.

“At a time of growing populism, division, and reckless talk — in Ireland and across the world — I think Sanctuary Runners is needed more than ever. We will drive on to create more groups, work with more communities worldwide, and show that a better way is both possible and sensible.”

Sanctuary Runners also received a €3,000 prize for winning the award.

The ISCA awards were held as part of the organisation’s annual Move Congress, which brings together international stakeholders to explore how sport and physical activity can drive social change.