In September, the 2026 Wrestling For Peace (W4P) Global Campaign will travel to Cholpon-Ata, Kyrgyzstan for the much anticipated World Nomad Games. This unique festival, known as “The Olympic Games of Central Asia”, will bring together athletes and cultural delegations from ninety countries to celebrate traditional nomadic sports, including wrestling disciplines such as Er Enish (horseback wrestling), Mas Wrestling (stick wrestling), and Alysh (belt wrestling).

After being invited to share at the Scientific Program during the 2024 World Nomad Games in Astana, Kazakhstan, W4P Executive Director, Dan Russell, has eagerly awaited the opportunity to return with a delegation, using the platform to advance the mission of humanitarian outreach and cross-cultural friendship through sport.

Perhaps one of the most anticipated events is Kok-Boru (horseback goat-tugging), a team field competition resembling a rough mix of polo and rugby, where players ride horses while wrestling over a dead goat carcass. Points are scored by throwing the “goat” into a circular goal at the opponents' end zone.

During the weeklong visit, Wrestling for Peace will undertake a humanitarian project to support a local home for abused children, including the construction of a security fence to protect the property, alongside efforts to build lasting relationships with the children and staff.

In addition to the humanitarian project, Russell will present a formal paper to the World Nomad Games' scientific community examining the positive impact of wrestling on the Sahrawi people, an ancient nomadic wrestling culture displaced from their homeland of Western Sahara and now living across five refugee camps in southwestern Algeria. The paper will explore how traditional wrestling practices continue to serve as a source of cultural identity, community resilience, and hope for the Sahrawi refugee population.