WDBF backs Africa dodgeball project for youth and sustainability

The World Dodgeball Federation has backed D4DA, a long-term plan to expand structured dodgeball across 30 African countries from 2026 to 2030. Built through the leadership of the African Dodgeball Confederation and the Fédération Ivoirienne de Dodgeball, the project also has formal support from the Ministry of Sports of Côte d’Ivoire.

D4DA's stated goals reach into youth development, social inclusion, peacebuilding, gender equality and environmental sustainability, with the initiative tied to the UN Sustainable Development Goals on education, gender equity, climate awareness, community resilience and youth empowerment. The project includes coaching education, officiating education, governance support, regional training networks, community leagues, educational infrastructure projects, climate-focused campaigns and pathways for youth entrepreneurship.

A standard match uses two teams of six players, up to six substitutes and two 15-minute halves. The game can be played in foam, cloth, rubber, beach, trampoline and digital formats.

The 4th African Dodgeball Championships in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, from August 23-27, 2025, were called by the federation the largest gathering in the history of the sport on the continent. The federation later welcomed 14 new full, voting member federations on December 14, 2025, and its expansion push now reaches more than 100 countries across all seven continents.

On April 21, 2026, the federation highlighted the Peace for Development Refugees Initiative during International Day of Sport for Development and Peace activities in Kakuma, where refugees and host-community members came together through sport, dialogue, cultural exchange and community engagement. Dodgeball was part of a broader mix that included Baseball5, football, yoga, acrobatics and dance.

Peace for Development is a grassroots initiative founded by refugees and host-community graduates in Kakuma and surrounding communities. The federation supported online coaching workshops, equipment support, youth engagement and community peacebuilding there, working with UNHCR-linked Sport for Refugees partners. Kakuma itself sits in northwestern Kenya and includes Kakuma 1, 2, 3 and 4, plus the Kalobeyei Integrated Settlement. In May 2026, Kenya said it hosted about 852,388 refugees and asylum seekers, with 37.1 percent in Kakuma and 49 percent in Dadaab.

WDBF traces its roots to 2011, when its draft mandate and ruleset were created, and the world governing body was established in 2013 and held its first World Cup in Manchester in 2016.