In an evening dominated by world stars at the 2025 Laureus World Sports Awards, the African continent was also in the spotlight.

The 25th anniversary Laureus World Sports Awards were held on Monday at the Palacio de Cibeles in the Spanish capital Madrid, with Lesotho-based Kick4Life receiving an award.

Laureus reported, “One of more than 300 programs supported by Laureus was awarded the Laureus Sport for Good Award. Kick4Life, a football project in Lesotho, shared the stage with the biggest names in global sport and brought the conversation back to the words of the late president of South Africa, Nelson Mandela: Sport has the power to change the world.”

Kick4Life uses football to reach at-risk children in the Mountain Kingdom, promoting health education, life-skills development, gender rights, and employability.

Meanwhile, American gymnast Simone Biles and Mondo Duplantis, a Swedish-American pole vaulter, were named the Sportswoman and Sportsman of the Year, respectively. They are both Olympic champions.

In the home of the reigning Spanish and European champions, Real Madrid was named Team of the Year, while Barcelona’s wonderkid Lamine Yamal won the Laureus World Breakthrough of the Year Award.

Paralympic swimming superstar Jiang Yuyan of China collected the Laureus World Sportsperson of the Year with a Disability Award.

Yuyan was the most decorated athlete at the 2024 Paralympic Games, winning seven para swimming golds from seven events in the pool and setting two individual world records.

Tom Pidcock, a British cyclist, is the Laureus World Action Sportsperson of the Year after winning the Olympic mountain bike cross-country title in unforgettable fashion.

The greatest surfer of all time, Kelly Slater, an American surfer, received the Laureus Lifetime Achievement Award. And to close the show, Spanish tennis star Rafael Nadal had the Palacio de Cibeles on its feet as he received the Laureus Sporting Icon Award.

Additional reporting by Laureus.