UNESCO Champions for Sport are international celebrity sport personalities advocates for the United Nations agency UNESCO. [1] This family of world-class athletes purveys UNESCO's message the world over. As well, they reflect UNESCO's concerns to promote the values of physical education and sports with a view of building a better future for younger generations.
Currently, twelve personalities are designated UNESCO Champion for Sport: [2]
| Name | Country | since | sport | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maya Gabeira |  Brazil | 2022 | surfer | |
| Nadia Nadim |  Afghanistan / Denmark | 2019 | association football | |
| Hristo Stoichkov |  Bulgaria | 2016 | association football | |
| Michael Schumacher [3] |  Germany | 2002 | Formula One racing |
Michael Schumacher is a German former racing driver who competed in Formula One for Jordan, Benetton, Ferrari, and Mercedes. Schumacher has a joint-record seven World Drivers' Championship titles and, at the time of his retirement from the sport in 2012, he held the records for the most wins (91), pole positions (68), and podium finishes (155)—which have since been broken by Hamilton—while he maintains the record for the most fastest laps (77), among others.
Vitali Volodymyrovych Klitschko is a Ukrainian politician and former professional boxer who serves as mayor of Kyiv and head of the Kyiv City State Administration, having held both offices since June 2014. Klitschko is a former leader of the Petro Poroshenko Bloc and a former Member of the Ukrainian Parliament. He became actively involved in Ukrainian politics in 2005 and combined this with his professional boxing career until his retirement from the sport in 2013. He holds a Doctoral Degree (Ph.D.) from Kyiv University's Physical Science Department.
Sergey Nazarovych Bubka is a Ukrainian former pole vaulter. He represented the Soviet Union until its dissolution in 1991. Bubka was twice named Athlete of the Year by Track & Field News, and in 2012 was one of 24 athletes inducted as inaugural members of the International Association of Athletics Federations Hall of Fame.
Gianluigi Buffon is an Italian professional footballer who captains and plays as a goalkeeper for the Serie B club Parma. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest goalkeepers of all time. He is one of the few recorded players to have made over 1,100 professional career appearances.
Ronald Antonio O'Sullivan is an English professional snooker player who is the current world champion and world number one. Widely recognised as one of the most talented and accomplished players in the sport's history, he has won the World Snooker Championship seven times, a modern-era record he holds jointly with Stephen Hendry. He has won a record seven Masters and a record seven UK Championship titles for a total of 21 Triple Crown titles, the most achieved by any player. He holds the record for the most ranking titles, with 39, and has been world number one on multiple occasions.
John Higgins, is a Scottish professional snooker player. He has won 31 career ranking titles, placing him in third position on the all-time list of ranking event winners, behind Ronnie O'Sullivan (39) and Stephen Hendry (36). Since turning professional in 1992, he has won four World Championships, three UK Championships, and two Masters titles for a total of nine Triple Crown titles, putting him on a par with Mark Selby and behind only O'Sullivan (21), Hendry (18) and Steve Davis (15). A prolific break-builder, he has compiled over 900 century breaks and 12 maximum breaks in professional tournaments, in both cases second only to O'Sullivan. Higgins has achieved the world number 1 ranking position on four occasions.
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward for Saudi Professional League club Al Nassr and captains the Portugal national team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Ronaldo has won five Ballon d'Or awards and four European Golden Shoes, the most by a European player. He has won 32 trophies in his career, including seven league titles, five UEFA Champions Leagues, the UEFA European Championship and the UEFA Nations League. Ronaldo holds the records for most appearances (183), goals (140), and assists (42) in the Champions League, goals in the European Championship (14), international goals (118), and joint-most international appearances (196). He is one of the few players to have made over 1,100 professional career appearances, and has scored over 800 official senior career goals for club and country. He is the only player to score in five FIFA World Cup tournaments.
The Masters is a professional invitational snooker tournament. Held every year since 1975, it is the second-longest running professional tournament after the World Snooker Championship. It is one of the three Triple Crown events, and although not a ranking event, it is regarded as one of the most prestigious tournaments on the circuit. The reigning champion is Judd Trump.
The FIFA Club World Cup is an international men's association football competition organised by the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the sport's global governing body. The competition was first contested in 2000 as the FIFA Club World Championship. It was not held from 2001 to 2004 due to a combination of factors in the cancelled 2001 tournament, most importantly the collapse of FIFA's marketing partner International Sport and Leisure (ISL), but since 2005 it has been held every year, and has been hosted by Brazil, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco and Qatar. Views differ as to the cup's prestige: it struggles to attract interest in most of Europe, and is the object of heated debate in South America.
Josep "Pep" Guardiola Sala is a Spanish professional football manager and former player, who is the current manager of Premier League club Manchester City. He is considered one of the greatest managers of all time and holds the records for the most consecutive league games won in La Liga, the Bundesliga and the Premier League.
Gabriela Szabo is a retired Romanian runner. She competed in the 1500 m and 5000 m events at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics and won a gold, a silver and a bronze medal.
Mark Anthony Selby is an English professional snooker player, who is a four-time World Snooker Champion. Ranked world number one on multiple occasions, he has won a total of 21 ranking titles, placing him eighth on the all-time list of ranking tournament winners. In addition to his four world titles, he has won the Masters three times and the UK Championship twice for a total of nine Triple Crown titles, putting him on a par with John Higgins, and behind only Ronnie O’Sullivan (21), Stephen Hendry (18) and Steve Davis (15).
Stuart Bingham is an English professional snooker player who is a former World Champion and Masters winner.
Judd Trump is an English professional snooker player, a former world champion and former world number one. Widely regarded as one of the sport's most talented players, he is currently sixth on the list of all-time ranking event winners, with 23 ranking titles. He has also won four Triple Crown titles.
Gareth Frank Bale is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a winger, most notably for Tottenham Hotspur and Real Madrid. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation and one of the greatest Welsh players of all time.
Luis Alberto Suárez Díaz is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a striker for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Grêmio and the Uruguay national team. Nicknamed El Pistolero, he is known for his passing, finishing and comfort with the ball. Suárez is regarded as one of the best players of his generation and one of the greatest strikers of all time. Suárez has won two European Golden Shoes, an Eredivisie Golden Boot, a Premier League Golden Boot, and the Pichichi Trophy. He has scored over 500 career goals for club and country.
Vitali Klitschko and Wladimir Klitschko, known as the Klitschko Brothers, are Ukrainian former professional boxers. During their peak years between 2004 and 2015, they were considered the dominant world heavyweight champions of their era, and among the most successful champions in boxing history. In 2011, they entered the Guinness World Records book as the pair of brothers with most world heavyweight title fight wins. In the years following the retirement of undisputed heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis in 2004, the Klitschko brothers would eventually accumulate all four major world heavyweight titles. Known for their exceptionally large physiques, they each developed a style that utilized their athleticism and arm reach to break down opponents.
Robert Lewandowski is a Polish professional footballer who plays as a striker for La Liga club Barcelona and captains the Poland national team. Recognised for his positioning, technique and finishing, Lewandowski is considered one of the best strikers of all time, as well as one of the most successful players in Bundesliga history. He has scored over 500 senior career goals for club and country.
Thiago Alcântara do Nascimento, Known as Thiago Alcântara or simply Thiago, is a professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Premier League club Liverpool and the Spain national team. Known for his accurate passes and technical skills, he is considered to be one of the best midfielders in the world.
Carlos Henrique Casimiro, known as Casemiro, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Premier League club Manchester United and the Brazil national team. He is widely regarded as one of the best defensive midfielders of his generation.