About the ASICS Foundation the ASICS Foundation, established by ASICS Corporation and headquartered in Kobe, Japan, advances a global commitment to improving wellbeing through movement. Anchored in the philosophy of “a sound mind in a sound body,” the Foundation supports in initiatives that position sport as a vehicle for physical, mental, and social development. Its work prioritises communities where access to structured sport remains limited, supporting programmes that enable inclusion, strengthen local ecosystems, and expand pathways for young people—particularly girls—to participate, lead, and thrive through sport.

About Mrida Education & Welfare Society Mrida Education & Welfare Society operates at the intersection of education, gender equity, and community development, with sport positioned not as an extracurricular activity but as critical social infrastructure.

Over the past decade, Mrida has built a practice‑led model of Sport for Development (S4D) that centres rural and peri‑urban realities. Its programmes are designed to do what systems often fail to do: create access, shift norms, and enable agency.

Through long‑term engagement with girls and young people, Mrida uses sport to:

• enable continuity in education
• build leadership and decision‑making capacity
• shift deeply embedded gender norms
• strengthen community ownership of youth development pathways

The organisation’s work demonstrates that when sport is embedded intentionally, it does not sit alongside development, it accelerates it.

The Grant: Scaling What Works

We are delighted to share that Mrida Education & Welfare Society has received a three‑year grant from the ASICS Foundation to expand its Sport for Development portfolio. This grant will enable Mrida to strengthen Building Communities Around Sports, our model that repositions sport as a community‑led system rather than a standalone intervention.

With this grant, we will:

• deepen programme intensity in existing geographies
• expand access for girls and underserved youth
• strengthen local capacity through coach and community leadership development
• enable sustained participation through improved access to equipment, safe spaces, and structured engagement

This support where grassroots communities play a central role in sports initiatives

A Shared Belief.

At its heart, this grant reflects a shared belief: Sport, when designed with intent, is not just recreation; it is a lever for equity. Mrida is proud to acknowledge the ASICS Foundation as a supporter aligned in long‑term vision, recognising that meaningful change requires consistency, trust, and investment in systems built for grassroots.