Deadline: 17-Nov-2025
The Foundation’s Sports Leaders Fund provides support to New Zealand sports leaders to travel across Asia, gaining deeper insight into the region’s sporting landscape, enhancing cultural awareness, and building meaningful connections.
The fund supports deeper insight into how sport is delivered across Asia and helps identify opportunities for collaboration. By supporting travel and knowledge exchange, the Sports Leaders Fund advances the Foundation’s mission to empower New Zealand sports professionals through immersive experiences, leadership development, and collaborative initiatives with Asia. Funding of up to $6,000 is available.
Applicants must be working in the New Zealand sports sector, be in a senior or decision-making role, have support from their NSO (National Sporting Organisation) or equivalent, be able to articulate how their planned visit will help develop new connections or strengthen existing sporting professional connections in Asia, have pre-established contacts in Asia they wish to meet with, and be New Zealand citizens or permanent residents.
To apply for funding from the Sports Leaders Fund, interested candidates need to fill in the online application form. Applicants will need to provide details of their planned trip, outline how their visit will help develop or strengthen sporting professional connections in Asia, describe how these new or strengthened connections will impact their future work, prepare a budget plan, upload a professional CV, and provide a letter of support from their sport’s national sports organisation (or equivalent).
Applications for this funding round close on Monday 17 November, and applicants will be notified by Friday 19 December. This round of funding is specifically for travel to be undertaken in the 2026 calendar year.
For more information, visit Asia New Zealand Foundation.