The Pangolin Cup is an innovative, conservation-themed football tournament that brings together communities, youth, civil society, and government partners to protect one of the world's most trafficked wild mammals: the pangolin. In 2025, the first-of-its-kind tournament in Senapati, Manipur, drew 16 football clubs, engaged over 900 students, and reached nearly 5,000 community members, all while spreading a powerful message: "Save Pangolins."
Pangolins are the most trafficked wild mammals in the world. In India's northeast, particularly Manipur along the Indo-Myanmar border, pangolins face intense pressure from illegal hunting and transnational wildlife trafficking. One of the most critical gaps is meaningful engagement with young people, apex indigenous bodies, and communities. Without positive, inclusive platforms that resonate locally, conservation messages struggle to compete with the economic incentives of wildlife trade.
The Pangolin Cup is a conservation-themed and community-driven football tournament that utilizes sport as a powerful entry point for conservation. The Pangolin Cup uses football as a unifying platform to bring together youth, village councils, church groups, civil society organisations, and enforcement agencies in a neutral and celebratory setting. Youth players emerge as pangolin ambassadors, carrying conservation messages.
Building on the success of the Pangolin Cup 2025, which engaged over 5,000 community members and more than 900+ students, 10 civil society organisations in Senapati, Manipur. This year, the Pangolin Cup will scale this proven model in Ukhrul District, Manipur, and continue to scale up in other districts of the state each year. By transforming football into a symbol of conservation pride, the Pangolin Cup helps replace hunting with stewardship and silence with collective action.
This project has provided additional documentation in a PDF file (projdoc.pdf).
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