The Sport Integrity Global Alliance (SIGA), through SIGAWomen, has officially announced the first Global Mentors confirmed for the 2026 edition of the SIGA Global Mentorship Programme for Young Aspiring Female Leaders in Sport.
The list of more than 75 mentors continues to grow daily and brings together senior executives, decision-makers, former elite-level athletes, governance experts, lawyers, media leaders, academics and industry professionals from across the global sports ecosystem. Representing 25 countries and some of the world’s leading sports organisations, as well as industry-related institutions and companies, these mentors reflect the international reach, diversity and calibre of the programme.
Click to check the SIGAWomen 2026 Mentors
Launched as part of SIGA’s Global Agenda on Female Empowerment and Leadership, the programme has already supported more than 500 aspiring female leaders worldwide since its creation and has become one of the most internationally diverse mentorship initiatives dedicated to women in sport governance and leadership.
Open to women aged 18 and over, the eight-month programme is designed to create tangible leadership pathways for the next generation of female leaders in Sport, combining high-level group workshops, bilateral mentorship sessions and direct access to senior figures from across the industry.
Katie Simmonds, SIGA’s Global Chief Commercial Officer, and Chair of the SIGAWomen Council, stated:
“I am incredibly proud to unveil the first cohort of more than 75 Global Mentors joining the 2026 SIGAWomen Global Mentorship Programme.
These remarkable women — and allies of change — are not only leaders in their respective fields, but true trailblazers who are choosing to leave a legacy by investing in the next generation of female leaders in sport.
To every mentor who said ‘yes’ — thank you. Thank you for stepping forward to guide, inspire and open doors for others. Real leadership is not about competition or gatekeeping opportunities. It is about lifting one another, creating pathways, and ensuring that the women who come after us can go even further.
This is exactly what the SIGAWomen Global Mentorship Programme stands for: action, inclusion, opportunity and lasting impact.
As we continue to grow this global movement, I also invite individuals and organisations not yet represented to join us in shaping the future of sport leadership. Together, we can make the 2026 programme our biggest, most diverse and most impactful edition yet.
The future of sport leadership must be inclusive — and together, we are building it”.
Now, you can play a direct role in this transformation by sponsoring a SIGAWomen scholarship! Click for more info
The announcement comes at a particularly significant moment for global sport governance.
According to the recently released 2026 SIGA Survey on Female Representativeness at the Highest Executive Organs of International Sports Federations, women now hold 32.02% of executive positions across the 30 International Federations analysed within the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF). While the data confirms measurable progress over the past decade, it also highlights persistent structural imbalances in the most senior leadership positions, including a decline in the number of female Presidents of International Federations.
The survey concluded that sustained investment in mentorship, leadership development and governance reform remains essential to accelerate gender equity and create lasting structural change across international sport.
Against this backdrop, the SIGA Global Mentorship Programme continues to position itself as a practical and action-oriented platform capable of translating ambition into opportunity.
The programme’s mentors embody the core values promoted by SIGAWomen and SIGA’s Universal Standards on Good Governance in Sport: integrity, leadership, resilience, inclusion, innovation and a commitment to creating opportunities for future generations.
Applications for the 2026 edition officially opened in November 2025 and continue to attract interest from aspiring female leaders across every continent.
The programme includes:
- Digital group workshops with internationally recognised speakers;
- Bilateral mentorship sessions with SIGAWomen Global Mentors;
- Complimentary digital access to the Summit on Female Leadership in Sport;
- Participation opportunities within Sport Integrity Week and the #WoW Lounge;
- Networking opportunities with senior global leaders from across the sports industry;
- Internship application opportunities at SIGA;
- A digital participation certificate.
All funds generated through the programme are reinvested into SIGAWomen initiatives dedicated to advancing gender equity and leadership representation in sport.
Further mentor announcements will be made in the coming weeks.
Click for more info and application.
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ABOUT SIGA
SIGA is the world’s leading organisation for Sport Integrity. We are creating a whole new landscape for the sports industry by delivering independent global rating and certification for world Sport to ensure it is governed and operates under the highest integrity standards: The SIGA Universal Standards.
Funded by our Members, SIGA is a non for profit global independent organisation with one aim: To ensure the sport industry is governed under the highest integrity standards so that the values of sport are protected.
SIGA is the only organisation to bring together sport, governments, academia, international organisations, sponsors, business, rights holders, NGOs and professional services companies, from every region in the world, around a common cause of fostering greater integrity throughout sport.
SIGA is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, as a non for-profit association, and comprises of the following continental subsidiaries: SIGA AMERICA, SIGA EUROPE and SIGA LATIN AMERICA.
For more information on SIGA, including its vision, mission and reform agenda, please refer to the website: www.siga-sport.com and FAQs.
To contact SIGA, please email: comms@siga-sport.com.