The Sport for Settlement program was delivered by Calgary Catholic Immigration Society (CCIS) in Calgary from March 2023 to August 2025. The purpose of the Sport Canada-funded pilot was to test how free, culturally responsive sport programs, offered early in the settlement journey of refugee youth (14-24 years old), could promote settlement outcomes and bridge youth to mainstream sport opportunities.

Accessibility and other program design choices included:

1. Free: Cost is a main barrier to access for newcomer youth. Programs were offered at no charge.
2. Transportation support: CCIS arranged chartered buses, taxis, or rideshare for hard to reach facilities, and helped youth navigate public transit.
3. Recruitment: Internal referrals from resettlement and case-management staff at CCIS were the main pathways for recruitment.
4. Supported engagement: Program schedules were adjusted around competing priorities.
5. Co-delivery: Program delivery paired CCIS facilitators with a qualified community coach
6. Dual-language facilitation: Sessions ran concurrently in English and first languages such as Arabic, Dari, Tigrinya, Amharic, Somari and French, facilitated by first-language CCIS facilitators.
7. Gender-specific options: While some programming was mixed, gender-specific programming was most successful for engaging girls.
8. New and familiar sports: Familiar sports (most often soccer) drew youth to the program and allowed them to maintain activities that were important to them in their country of origin. New sports helped youth orient themselves to local facilities, opportunities, and sport culture.
9. Bridging to mainstream sport: Help with information, system navigation, and registration for mainstream community sports programs were offered to interested youth.