FY 2026 Sports Envoy Program (NOFO)

U.S. Department of State
Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA)
Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)
FY 2026 Sports Envoy Program
Funding Opportunity Number: DFOP0018007
Application Deadline: May 26, 2026

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A. Basic Information

• Funding Opportunity Title: FY 2026 Sports Envoy Program
• Funding Opportunity Number: DFOP0018007
• Announcement Type: New Cooperative Agreement
• Deadline for Applications: May 26, 2026, 11:59pm Eastern (Washington DC time)
• Assistance Listing Number: 19.415
• Length of Performance Period: 18 months

Number of Awards

• Anticipated One award

Award Amount

• Approximately $2,600,000

Total Available Funding

• $2,600,000, pending the availability of funds

Type of Funding

• FY 2026 Educational and Cultural Exchange Programs (ECE) Funds

Funding Instrument Type

• Cooperative Agreement

Anticipated Award Date

• September 15, 2026

This notice is subject to availability of funding. Issuance of the NOFO does not constitute an award commitment on the part of the Government.

ECA reserves the right to reduce, revise, or increase proposal budgets in accordance with the needs of the program and the availability of funds.

Pending satisfactory implementation of this program and the availability of funds in subsequent fiscal years, it is ECA's intent to renew this award for two additional, consecutive fiscal years, before openly competing it again.

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C. Program Description

2. Executive Summary

The Office of Sports Diplomacy of the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA) invites proposals for the Sports Envoy Program. This international exchange program uses sports to advance the Administration’s foreign policy priorities and promote American leadership and excellence. The Sports Envoy Program includes countries from all six regions of the world, as determined in consultation with the Department’s regional bureaus. The program is authorized under the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961 (Fulbright-Hays Act), which aims to increase mutual understanding and strengthen ties between the people of the United States and other nations.

The Sports Envoy Program sends current and former American professional athletes and coaches overseas on weeklong programs to promote cross-cultural understanding, engage key communities that are often difficult to reach through traditional approaches, and showcase American excellence and leadership through sport. Sports Envoys lead youth clinics and team building activities, conduct community outreach and media engagements, foster dialogue with government leaders, and meet with other U.S. embassy contacts to advance U.S. foreign policy and America First priorities.

ECA funding will support approximately 35 international exchanges for approximately 70 Envoy participants, approximately eight alumni grants, and a technology system created by the applicant. Each Sports Envoy program typically lasts 4-7 days excluding travel, and 7-10 days including travel. Alumni grants will enable participants to deepen the impact of sports diplomacy in the U.S. and/or internationally. Applicants are encouraged to exceed 35 exchanges, 70 Envoy participants, and eight alumni grants should their expertise lead to cost-efficiencies.

Applicants must be registered in SAM.gov with a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI). Only one proposal per organization will be considered.

ECA anticipates that a single award recipient will manage all organizational and administrative responsibilities of the program.

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K. Eligibility

1. Eligible Applicants

The following organizations are eligible to apply:

• U.S. Not-for-profit organizations, including think tanks and civil society/non-governmental organizations
• U.S. Not-for-profit public and private educational institutions

Please see the Proposal Submission Instructions (PSI) for additional information.

2. Cost Sharing

• There is no minimum or maximum percentage of cost sharing required for this program.

3. Other Eligibility Requirements

a. All organizations must have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) issued via SAM.gov as well as a valid registration in SAM.gov. Please see Section E. Submission Requirements and Deadlines for more information.

b. ECA’s Grant Guidelines require that organizations demonstrate at least four years of experience in conducting international exchanges to be eligible for awards exceeding $130,000 in ECA funding. As noted in Section A. Basic Information, ECA anticipates issuing one award, for approximately $2,600,000. Therefore, organizations must demonstrate four years of experience in conducting international exchanges in your proposal to be eligible to apply under this competition.

c. All proposals must comply with the requirements stated in the NOFO, Project Objectives, Goals, and Instructions (POGI) document, and the PSI; not doing so may result in your proposal being declared technically ineligible and given no further consideration in the review process.

d. All proposals must contain a SF-424, executive summary, proposal narrative, budget (SF 424A), detailed line-item budget, and budget narrative.

e. Only one proposal will be considered by ECA from each applicant organization. In cases where more than one submission from an applicant appears in grants.gov, ECA will only consider the submission made closest in time to the NOFO deadline; that submission would constitute the one and only proposal ECA would review from that applicant.

Please note: Applicant organizations are defined by their legal name, and EIN number as stated on their completed SF-424 and additional supporting documentation outlined in the PSI document.

f. Applicants who are current recipients of awards directly from ECA should make sure the application details one or more award that will be open with ECA at the start of the anticipated period of performance for this NOFO. Applicants who do not have current awards directly with ECA, please review the information in the PSI, section D, with additional information that must be provided in your application for it to be eligible.

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L. Program Description

1. Authority

Overall grant making authority for this program is contained in the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961, Public Law 87-256, as amended, also known as the Fulbright-Hays Act. The purpose of the Act is "to enable the Government of the United States to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries...; to strengthen the ties which unite us with other nations by demonstrating the educational and cultural interests, developments, and achievements of the people of the United States and other nations...and thus to assist in the development of friendly, sympathetic and peaceful relations between the United States and the other countries of the world."
The funding authority for the program above is provided through legislation.

2. Purpose

The Sports Envoy Program advances U.S. foreign policy and America First priorities by sending current and former American professional athletes and coaches overseas to promote cross-cultural understanding and showcase American excellence and leadership through sport. The program engages a wide variety of communities worldwide—often those difficult to reach through traditional diplomacy—by leading youth clinics, conducting community outreach, and fostering dialogue with local leaders. Through these people-to-people exchanges, the Sports Envoy Program builds trust and cultivates leadership, laying the groundwork for more stable, and prosperous societies while showcasing American excellence and leadership on the global stage.

3. Program Specific Guidelines

Applicants are invited to integrate the following competitive proposal components into a high-profile Sports Envoy Program in close coordination with ECA, U.S. embassies, and American sports leagues and federations.

Competitive proposals will demonstrate:

1. Cost-efficient program design that maximizes exchange, duration, and participant numbers;
2. Leadership and expertise in sport, sport for development/diplomacy, exchange programs, and international travel coordination;
3. Innovative programming ideas responsive to ECA priorities and that will highlight Freedom 250 (the celebration of America’s Semiquincentennial), as well as the Decade of Sport in America mega-sporting events hosted on American soil such as, but not limited to, the 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup and the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games.
4. High-quality media and communication strategy and organizational expertise to leverage the narrative power of sports and promote the Sports Envoy Program.
5. Robust technology and data management capacity, including experience creating, managing, and maintaining participant databases with automated communication systems, real-time data tracking and reporting capabilities, and secure information management protocols that support program implementation and alumni engagement.

The Sports Envoy Program sends current and former American professional athletes and coaches overseas on weeklong programs to promote cross-cultural understanding, engage key communities that are often difficult to reach through traditional approaches, and showcase American excellence and leadership through sport. Sports Envoys lead youth clinics and team building activities, conduct community outreach and media engagements, foster dialogue with government leaders, and meet with U.S. embassy contacts to advance the Administration’s foreign policy goals.

U.S. embassies develop and implement Sports Envoy programs in close cooperation with host country professional sports associations, local sports federations and NGOs, and local ministries of sport to include clinics, school visits, media interviews, and youth outreach activities.

Sports Envoys travel for approximately 7-10 days including travel time. Each Sports Envoy Program will primarily involve a single country. As deemed appropriate by ECA and the Department’s regional bureaus, programs may be composed of multiple countries and/or regions.

The Office of Sports Diplomacy, in consultation with professional sports leagues, national governing bodies, and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee, will coordinate the selection of Sports Envoys. The award recipient organization will be asked to suggest Sports Envoy candidates from among its contacts or networks, and conduct screening calls to bolster recruitment efforts.

The applicant will manage logistical arrangements, Envoy preparation, and follow-up for approximately 70 Sports Envoys, who typically travel in pairs for approximately 35 total programs, over the duration of the FY 2026 award. When total travel time exceeds 14 hours including layovers (which describes a majority of Sports Envoy programs held in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, South Asia, and East Asia), Sports Envoys are eligible for business class seating. Itineraries often change at the last minute and arranging and managing travel logistics is a significant part of implementing the Sports Envoy Program.

In addition to Sports Envoy program management, the applicant will oversee:

1. Alumni Engagement: Approximately eight alumni grants will be awarded to support community projects in the United States and internationally. The applicant is encouraged to propose additional engagement opportunities such as a DC-based alumni Summit to share best practices and alumni led virtual workshops offered to U.S. embassies.
2. Technology & Data Management: The applicant will be asked to build and maintain a technology system to manage program data, automate communication with Envoys, track participant engagement, and support reporting needs. The applicant will also maintain the public facing website.
3. Storytelling & Impact: The applicant will be asked to create video testimonial interviews of several Envoy alumni to highlight their experiences. The applicant is encouraged to outline additional storytelling and impact measurement opportunities such as podcast interviews, success stories, social media, physical program artifacts, sports diplomacy toolkit for U.S. embassies, and research that demonstrates the quantitative and qualitative impact of the Sports Envoy program.
4. Recipient Responsibilities: The activities and the roles and responsibilities of the recipient for this program are outlined in the attached POGI document.
5. Goals and Objectives: The Sports Envoy Program is designed to achieve the following goals:

• Advance U.S. foreign policy goals;
• Showcase American excellence and leadership in sports;
• Facilitate meaningful sports experiences between American athletes and international communities, promoting physical activity and sharing sports skills, as well as lessons in leadership, teamwork, and conflict resolution; and
• Foster dialogue with government leaders and other U.S. embassy/consulate contacts that may be difficult to reach with traditional diplomacy.

The Sports Envoy Program is designed to achieve the following objectives:

1. Advance participant and beneficiary cross-cultural competence and global perspective
2. Strengthen engagement among participants, alumni, beneficiaries, and institutions
3. Strengthen personal, professional, and technical abilities and aptitudes of participants and beneficiaries

6. Program Performance Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E)

Distinct from grants or cooperative agreement monitoring and participant monitoring, performance monitoring is designed to assess progress against a program’s goals and objectives. A performance monitoring framework is vital to tracking the direction, pace, and magnitude of change that result from ECA program.

ECA created the Monitoring Data for ECA (MODE