Mapping of good practices relating to social inclusion of migrants through sport : final report to the DG Education and Culture of the European Commission.
Date: 2016-09-09
Institutions: Directorate-General for Education, Youth, Sport and Culture
Subjects: EU programme, aid to refugees, integration of migrants, migrant, social integration, sport

Mapping of good practices relating  
to social inclusion of migrants 
through sport 

Final report to the DG 
Education and Culture of 
the European Commission 

June 2016 

 
 
 
 
EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Directorate-General for Education and Culture 
Directorate C – Youth and Sport 
Unit C.3 – Sport policy and programme 

E-mail:  Eac-sport@ec.europa.eu  

European Commission 
B-1049 Brussels 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
EUROPEAN COMMISSION 

Mapping of good practices 
relating to social inclusion of 
migrants through sport 

Final report to the DG Education and Culture of 
the European Commission 

written by  

Christine Bertram, Martina Diep, Tim Fox, Victoria Pelka, 
Charlotte Ruitinga and James Sennett – Ecorys UK 

2016 

Directorate-General for Education and Culture 
Youth and Sport 

EN 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Disclaimer 

This  document  has  been  prepared  for  the  European  Commission;  however,  it 
reflects  the  views  only  of  the  authors,  and  the  Commission  cannot  be  held 
responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 

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Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2016 

ISBN 978-92-79-59523-3 
doi: 10.2766/158610 

© European Union, 2016 
Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged. 

Image © Shutterstock.com 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Table of Contents 

1.0  Introduction ......................................................................... 3 

1.1  Background to the study .............................................................................. 3 
1.2  EU level context .......................................................................................... 3 

2.0  Sport for Social Inclusion: Evidence from previous research 6 

2.1  Sport for social inclusion .............................................................................. 6 
2.2  Sport and the social inclusion of migrants/ refugees ........................................ 7 

3.0  Method for project review .................................................... 9 

3.1  Analytical Framework ................................................................................... 9 

4.0  Overview of the projects .................................................... 12 

5.0  What works, how and why? ............................................... 20 

5.1  Positive societal context ............................................................................. 20 
5.2  Creating Ownership ................................................................................... 21 
5.3  Cultural exchange ..................................................................................... 22 
5.4  Development pathways .............................................................................. 23 
5.5  Funding structures ..................................................................................... 24 
5.6  Enhancing cultural sensitivity ...................................................................... 26 
5.7  Enhancing administrative capacity ............................................................... 27 
5.8  Transferability of projects ........................................................................... 28 

6.0  Conclusion ......................................................................... 29 

Annex One : Sources ................................................................ 31 
Annex Two : Contributions by stakeholders .............................. 33 
Annex Three : Project summaries ............................................. 34 

1 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
2 

 
 
 
 
1.0 

Introduction  

1.1 

Background to the study 

The aim of this study is to provide an analytical overview of the types of sports related 
projects and interventions used to support the social inclusion of migrants and to identify 
best practice in their design, implementation and measurement. The study used a 
literature review, stakeholder interviews and an analysis of the key strengths and 
success factors of relevant projects based on a typology. 

The opportunities for sport to act as a tool for social inclusion have been well 
documented and across the Member States and within the context of European Union 
programmes such as Erasmus+, a wide range of projects and initiatives have been 
implemented.  

In the context of the report the term “migrants” refers to those individuals who have 
moved to a different Member State and have settled there. Refugees (sometimes also 
referred to as newly arrived migrants), strictly speaking, are migrants too, but due to 
the more transient nature of their settlement are considered as a separate group. In 
light of the recent influx of refugees and the immediate need for support, a large amount 
of projects focussing on social inclusion and integration are now focussed on refugees 
meaning these types of projects are quite prevalent throughout this study. 

The report begins situating the topic of sport and social inclusion within a very broad 
policy context. It is important to recognise that the nature of sport and social inclusion 
are located in a much more complex network of policies and initiatives than can be taken 
into account within the resources available for this study. A short literature review 
(section 2) provides insights into sport as a tool for social inclusion, the different 
classifications of projects as well as the literature around sport and the social inclusion of 
migrants/ refugees. The analytical section (section 4) of the report begins with an 
overview of the projects identified in the study as well as a brief descriptive analysis 
applying the analytical framework. Based on the literature review, stakeholder interviews 
and the project review, key success factors of projects are examined in more depth 
(section 5). The report concludes with a brief summary and a set of recommendations to 
consider (section 6).  

1.2 

EU level context  

This section briefly outlines the high-level context. It draws on EU level policies and 
strategies, but also takes into account some Member State level developments. This 
section is meant to provide some introductory context, not an in-depth analysis of the 
policies and strategies that apply to the subject area. 

In 2015, the total number of people escaping war and poverty by seeking a new home in 
Europe was in excess of 1.2 million people.1 The current migration crisis has become a 
highly sensitive political issue and has prompted the need for an urgent EU and Member 
State level response. The challenges these numbers present are manifold with the re-
settlement of individuals and families a priority, alongside the need to ensure their 
longer-term inclusion and integration into society. The integration and social inclusion of 
refugees and migrants into European society, therefore, represents one of the greatest 
challenges facing the EU at the present time.  

1 Eurostat (2016) Record number of over 1.2 million first time asylum seekers registered in 2015. Eurostat 
news release. 44/2016 - 4 March 2016. http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/2995521/7203832/3-
04032016-AP-EN.pdf/790eba01-381c-4163-bcd2-a54959b99ed6  

3 

 
 
                                           
Concurrently, there has been growing interest in the use of sport as a mechanism to 
support a wide range of social outcomes such as education, employment, heath and 
social cohesion. More specifically, sport has the potential to promote social inclusion, 
integration and equal opportunities. The EU White Paper on Sport (2007) states that 
“Sport can… facilitate the integration into society of migrants and persons of foreign 
origin as well as support inter-cultural dialogue.”2 

While sport alone cannot solve all of the issues related to the migration crisis, in 
conjunction with other measures, sport has the potential to contribute to integration and 
social inclusion of migrants and refugees. What sport can offer is a ‘universal language’, 
which is able to transcend social, cultural and national boundaries. At its best it can bring 
people together, no matter what their origin, background, religious beliefs or economic 
status3. Therefore it can also provide a unique way of bringing new arrivals and their 
host communities together. Sport thus creates a unique, universal and safe arena for 
cultural exchange, individual and community development and offers an alternative 
pathway to education and employment for the transition into a host society4.  

It is on this premise that EU politicians, policy makers and professionals are now looking 
to sport for inspiration, recognising that there are some lessons and good practice 
examples that can be taken from sport, in particular from grassroots sport initiatives and 
programmes across various Member States. This was top of the agenda at this year’s EU 
Sport Forum in March 20165, where leading representatives from international and 
European sport federations, the Olympic movement, European and national sport 
umbrella organisations and other sport-related organisations came together to discuss 
the integration of migrants and refugees through sport, and in particular what answers 
European grassroots sport can provide.  

In Member States such as Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom, there are numerous 
examples of targeted sports initiatives and projects which have demonstrated how sport 
can connect communities and contribute to the integration of migrants and refugees6. 
The types of projects can take many forms, from organisations running sports days 
within the local community, with a range of sporting activities involved, to more 
structured approaches such as the development of local football leagues involving 
migrant, local and mixed teams. The majority of these targeted initiatives are delivered 
by support organisations for migrants and refugees, local community organisations, local 
sports clubs, or representative bodies for particular sports. A key driver, especially in 
Germany, is the provision of targeted government funding for the implementation of 
“Integration durch Sport” (Integration through Sport), highlighting the positive attitude 
and political significance and weight given to the issue7.   

There are also a range of transnational projects and networks across Europe, many of 
which are funded and organised through European Commission programmes such as the 
Erasmus+ Sport programme, which facilitates the exchange of good practices on the 
integration of migrants by providing funding for collaborative partnerships, not-for-profit 
European sport events and actions that strengthen the evidence base for policy-making 
(see also Section 2.1).  

2 European Commission (2007) White Paper on Sport. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-
content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52007DC0391&from=EN  
3 UN (2004) Universal Language of Sport Brings People Together, Teaches Teamwork, Tolerance.  
Secretary-General, Press Release. http://www.un.org/press/en/2004/sgsm9579.doc.htm  
4 Sporting Equals (2015) Sport For Communities http://www.sportingequals.org.uk/projects/sport-for-
communities.html  
5 European Commission (2016) EU Sport Forum http://ec.europa.eu/sport/forum/#home  
6 SPIN (2012) Inclusion of Migrants in and through Sports. A Good Practice Guide. 
http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europeia_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_spor
t_guidelines.pdf  
7 DOSB (2016) Integration durch Sport http://www.integration-durch-sport.de/de/integration-durch-sport/   

4 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
Erasmus+ sport projects for the social inclusion of migrants include for instance:  

  The  European  Sport  Inclusion  Network  (ESPIN)8,  led  by  FairPlay at  the  Vienna 
Institute for International Dialogue and Cooperation (VIDC, Austria), is a partnership 
between  NGOs  and  sport  organisations  from  seven  EU  Member  States,  delivering  a 
project  to  promote  equal  opportunities  for  migrants  and  minorities  through 
volunteering in sport.  

  Social Inclusion and Volunteering in Sports Clubs in Europe (SIVSCE)9, led by 
the Syddansk Universitet, Denmark, seeks promote social inclusion and volunteering 
in sports clubs in Europe by providing comparable knowledge across ten EU member 
states  and  disseminate  this  knowledge  to  politicians  and  sports  professionals  in 
Europe.  

Preparatory Actions in the field of sport (2009-2013) also funded some relevant projects 
with cross-national partnership working and knowledge sharing and included for 
instance:  

  Join In!10, a project by the Netherlands Institute for Sport and Physical Activity 

(NISB, The Netherlands), a social inclusion of migrant youth through sport project to 
support the sharing of ideas by community groups, development workers, public and 
voluntary sector agencies who want to improve the social inclusion of young migrants, 
asylum seekers and refugees through sports and physical activity. A key output was 
the later development of some principles for the development and implementation of 
relevant projects11. 

  Creating a Level Playing Field12 by European Non-Governmental Sports 

Organisation (ENGSO). The aim of the project was to collect and exchange good 
practices on the inclusion of migrants and ethnic minorities in sporting activities, 
ranging from sport organisations, public authorities and/or organisations working in 
the field of social inclusion and anti-discrimination. 

  Migrants' Inclusion Model through Sport for All (MIMoSA)13 by UISP Sport per 
Tutti (UISP, Italy). The project aim was to build models of inclusion of migrants and 
refugees through sport for all activities.  

8 VIDC FairPlay (2012) European Sport Inclusion Network (ESPIN) Involving migrants in mainstream sport 
institutions - Final Evaluation Report http://www.sportinclusion.net/  
9 Syddansk Universitet (2015) Social inclusion and volunteering in sports clubs in Europe (SIVSCE) 
http://www.sdu.dk/en/om_sdu/institutter_centre/c_isc/forskningsprojekter/sivsce/project_description  
10 Nederlands Instituut voor Sport en Bewegen (2010) Join in! - Social inclusion of young migrants through 
sport. http://international.nisb.nl/activities/2%20  
11 Nederlands Instituut voor Sport en Bewegen (2016) JoinIn! Key principles 
http://international.nisb.nl/page/s991583  
12 ENGSO (2012) “Creating a Level Playing Field” - Social Inclusion of Migrants and Ethnic Minorities in Sport.  
A Guide for European Sports Organisations and Clubs. http://www.engso.eu/files/Booklet.pdf  
13 UISP (2012) MIMoSA - Social inclusion through sports: a possible model  
http://www.mimosaproject.net/?p=339  

5 

 
 
 
                                           
2.0  Sport for Social Inclusion: Evidence from previous 
research  

This section presents the findings from a review of key literature sources identified 
through the desk-based research and interviews with stakeholders. It provides an outline 
of the key aspects of academic debates on the role of sport in promoting social inclusion 
and considers emerging good practice principles underpinning the delivery of 
interventions in this area.  

2.1 

Sport for social inclusion 

In recent years there has been an increasing focus, both in academic research and policy 
debates, on the role of sport in promoting social inclusion. It is beyond the scope of this 
review to consider in any detail the wide ranging academic literature on the structural 
causes of social inclusion. It is recognised however that while poverty is at the core of 
social exclusion, it is often exacerbated by exclusionary factors such as class, gender, 
age, ethnicity, disability, being at-risk of involvement in crime, and location (i.e., urban 
or rural).14 It is also recognised that social inclusion has a close connection with anti-
discrimination as both aim to create a more inclusive society and ensure equal 
participation in society for all.15 

Previous research has highlighted that sport for social inclusion interventions need to 
take account of the complexity of the structural issues underlying exclusionary 
processes: specific social outcomes can only be achieved through sports activities if 
certain conditions are present and successful processes realised.16  Rather than sport 
contributing to “social inclusion”, various aspects of social inclusion may precede such 
participation.17 Aside from the obvious role of sports clubs, schools, youth and 
community groups, health and welfare bodies, churches and faiths, trades unions are 
therefore relevant partners in such activities.18   

The important role of wider ‘social inclusion’ bodies in the effective delivery of 
interventions in this area provides the basis for Coalter and Taylor’s (2010) distinction 
between ‘plus sport’ and ‘sport plus’ initiatives.19 Plus sport initiatives are led by social 
development organisations dealing with particular social issues. Sports activities are 
added on to their programmes as a way of achieving their broader social objectives. 
Sport plus activities are led by organisations whose core activity is sport, where sports is 
used and adapted in various ways to achieve certain social development objectives. In 
the context of this study, a helpful interpretation of the plus sport/sport plus 
categorisation is ‘Integration through sport’ and ‘integration with sport’ as highlighted in 
several of the stakeholder interviews.  

14 Collins, M. and Haudenhuyse, R. (2015) Social Exclusion and Austerity Policies in England: The Role of 
Sports in a New Area of Social Polarisation and Inequality? Social Inclusion Publication date: 2015/06/25  
15 ENGSO (2012) Creating a Level Playing Field: Social inclusion of migrants and ethnic minorities in Sport, 
ENGSO – European Non-Governmental Sports Organisation. 
16 Collins, M. and Haudenhuyse, R. (2015) Social Exclusion and Austerity Policies in England: The Role of 
Sports in a New Area of Social Polarisation and Inequality? Social Inclusion Publication date: 2015/06/25  
17 ENGSO (2012) Creating a Level Playing Field: Social inclusion of migrants and ethnic minorities in Sport, 
ENGSO – European Non-Governmental Sports Organisation. 
18 Collins, M. and Haudenhuyse, R. (2015) Social Exclusion and Austerity Policies in England: The Role of 
Sports in a New Area of Social Polarisation and Inequality? Social Inclusion Publication date: 2015/06/25  
19 Coalter, F. and Taylor, J. (2010) Sport-for-development impact study, A research initiative funded by Comic 
Relief and UK Sport and managed by International Development through Sport. 

6 

 
 
 
 
                                           
2.2 

Sport and the social inclusion of migrants/ refugees 

Two major European research projects have examined the relationship between sport 
and the social inclusion of migrants. Within the framework of the EU Preparatory Actions 
in the Field of Sport 2010, the European Non-Governmental Sports Organisation 
(ENGSO) project “Creating a Level Playing Field”, which completed in 2012, aimed to 
collect and exchange good practices on the inclusion of migrants and ethnic minorities in 
sporting activities. The ongoing project “Sport Inclusion Network (SPIN) – Involving 
migrants in mainstream sport institutions” co-funded by the European Union’s Erasmus+ 
programme has also examined the implementation of measures seeking to promote 
social inclusion of migrants through sport. Additionally, UEFA have carried out a football 
specific mapping of initiatives promoting the inclusion of migrants20. 

Based on the good practice research, SPIN draws conclusions on the intervention logic 
underpinning the role of sports projects in promoting the social inclusion of migrants.21 
The study concludes that measures promoting social inclusion amongst migrants through 
sport primarily focus on the introduction of migrants (or other under-represented 
groups) to sport and the facilitation of the capacity to act within sport: 

“..the involvement in a sport club can create particularly favourable conditions 
for further inclusion processes since sport associations are characterised by the 
fact that training and practice sessions take place regularly and almost without 
exception in groups, and that sporting activities often take place within the 
framework of other social activities that provide additional opportunities for 
intercultural interaction. Sport clubs can therefore be regarded as places for 
social interaction and civic engagement, which can allow individuals to gain 
experience and acquire skills, which they can apply to other social contexts, 
such as schools, workplaces and communities, etc.”  

The sport and integration work in western European countries is based on the premise 
that sports activities provide an opportunity for migrants to learn about the country’s 
norms and values. Sport is also thought of as an open and inclusive activity, where 
migrants can develop a network of friends with similar interests.22  

One of the aims of the “Creating a Level Playing Field” project was to collect and 
exchange good practices on the inclusion of migrants and ethnic minorities in sporting 
activities, ranging from sport organisations, public authorities and/or organisations 
working in the field of social inclusion and anti-discrimination.23 Through this research 
the study identified a number of good practice principles that underpin the successful 
delivery of projects. The key elements of these are outlined below: 

  Funding: project-based initiatives which target particular social groups such as 
migrants require access to sufficient funding to support longer-term inclusion 
objectives. 

  Planning: successful projects are underpinned by a clear strategic vision and 

associated set of outcomes which reflect the idea of social inclusion as a process. 

  Communication and awareness raising: the effective integration of migrants through 

sport activity requires dialogue between majority and minority groups and individuals, 
either at an individual or organisational level. 

20 UEFA (2016) UEFA Member Associations and Social Inclusion of Refugees Mapping. 
http://ec.europa.eu/sport/library/documents/uefa-mapping_en.pdf 
21 Sport Inclusion Network (SPIN) (2012) A publication in the framework of the European project “– Involving 
migrants in mainstream sport institutions” co-funded by the European Union.  
22 Walseth K. and Fasting K. (2004) Sport as a Means of Integrating Minority Women, Sport in Society, 7:1, 
109-129 
23 ENGSO (2012) Creating a Level Playing Field: Social inclusion of migrants and ethnic minorities in Sport, 
ENGSO – European Non-Governmental Sports Organisation. 

7 

 
 
                                           
  Recruitment and reaching: promoting greater diversity in the managers and coaches 

involved in the delivery of sports activities but also developing the diversity awareness 
skills of managers and coaches through training and qualifications.  

  Collaboration: promoting collaboration between all possible stakeholders, such as 
social partners, migrant and minority organisations, schools, sports clubs and the 
media. 

  Evaluation: setting clear social inclusion goals from the outset and embedding 

evaluation as a continuous process in project and programme delivery. 

These factors have largely also been included in the Key Principles outlined by NISB 
(2016) and developed in the context of the JoinIn! project24. 

As indicated by the SPIN analysis, the intervention logic underpinning the role of sport in 
supporting the social inclusion of migrants is based on the theory that sustained 
participation in sport can have a positive influence on inclusion. The literature review has 
revealed some limited evidence on the relationship between participation in sport 
amongst migrants and their integration into the society of settlement. Makarova and 
Herzog (2014)25 address whether immigrant youths’ participation in sporting activities 
can facilitate their integration by helping to promote and maintain intercultural contacts 
between young immigrants and young nationals. Based on a statistical analysis of a 
survey of young immigrants in a German-speaking part of Switzerland, the study 
concludes that the frequency of immigrant youths’ contact with Swiss peers during 
sports correlated significantly with their feeling of being integrated into Swiss society. 
The analysis also showed that the frequency of immigrant youths’ contacts with Swiss 
youths during sports correlated significantly positively with the proportion of Swiss peers 
in their free-time contacts. However, the research found that young female immigrants 
were less involved in sporting activities compared to their young male equivalents. A 
limitation of the research is that it employed a cross-sectional design and therefore while 
the research suggested a positive relationship between sport and migrants’ inclusion it 
could not be conclusive on the causality of the relationship: i.e. whether higher 
involvement in sport causes better integration or if the relationship occurs in the 
opposite direction. A longitudinal study would be needed to confirm the causality of the 
reported findings. 

Some key conclusions can be drawn from this brief overview of the literature on the role 
of sport in promoting social inclusion: 

  Sports activities provide a particular opportunity to facilitate the integration of 
migrants by helping to promote and maintain intercultural contacts between 
immigrants and nationals. 

  Interventions in this area should pay particular attention to the underlying factors that 

cause social inclusion and focus on the monitoring and evaluation of longer-term 
impacts and lessons from implementation. 

24 Nederlands Instituut voor Sport en Bewegen (2016) JoinIn! Key principles 
http://international.nisb.nl/page/s991583  
25 Makarova, E. and Herzog, W. (2014) Sport as a means of immigrant youth integration: an empirical study of 
sports, intercultural relations, and immigrant youth integration in Switzerland. Sportwissenschaft.. 2014 44:1-
9. 

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3.0  Method for project review  

This section outlines the methodological approach that was applied to search, screen and 
analyse relevant projects that were used in the analysis. The foundations for this 
included a literature review that scoped the academic literature in the field and aimed at 
extracting what is known so far regarding the use of sport as a tool for the integration of 
migrants and refugees. From there, a systematic extraction and classification process of 
relevant projects using a two-tier typology that was developed based on the literature 
review as well as and previous research was applied. 

The literature review scoped the relevant academic literature as well as research reports, 
websites and documents that were made available by stakeholders, both at European 
and Member State level. The identified literature was then screened for whether it met 
the necessary criteria for inclusion (see Table 3.1).  

Table 3.1  Inclusion criteria for literature review 

Screening criteria  

Publication date 

Work published from the year 2008 (8 year time period) 

Geographical 
scope 

Subject scope: 

EEA States 

Sport and integration 
Sport and employability 
Sport and migration 
Sport for Development/ social change 
Sport and refugees 
Use of sport for skills development/ education 
Clubs and intercultural accessibility 
Integration through volunteering/ coaching 
Use  of  sports  media  to  support  integration/  image  of  integration  in 
sports media 
Sport as a means to reduce crime 

Language: 

Published in English, German, French, Spanish, Italian 

Literature type: 

Policy literature, published literature (peer and non-peer reviewed), 
research  and  evaluation  reports,  grey  literature  (e.g.  leaflets, 
organisation websites)   

The literature review was supplemented with interviews with 9 individuals (see list of 
participants in the Annex) in stakeholder organisations in a range of Member States, who 
on the one hand provided insights into the context of sport for the integration of 
migrants and refugees in their respective country and also indicated relevant projects 
and literature to include in the study. 

3.1 

Analytical Framework 

A typology was developed to frame the research and put the projects reviewed into an 
analytical framework that was useful for the analysis. The typology was particularly 
useful when searching for relevant projects and to assess their key aims, outcomes and 
success factors.  

9 

 
 
 
 
The typology was developed drawing on previous research2627 highlighting common 
change mechanisms to engage youth involve exploiting the appeal of sports such as 
football, athletics or swimming. Sport functions as a hook to attract in particular 
disadvantaged and marginalised young people, without attaching the stigma commonly 
associated with social interventions. It has been found that rather than feeling 
stigmatised and in need of support, participation in sport-related programmes gives 
young people a feeling of privilege.28 It therefore provides an ideal entry point before 
subsequent 'mechanisms of change' are introduced to trigger positive outcomes, 
whether directly or indirectly through sport participation. The key change mechanisms 
associated with sport and employability are as follows: 

  Employability Support –sport attracts individuals into youth/ social work-type 

programmes that include a package of employability support, ranging from careers 
advice and guidance, through to life skills coaching, jobs placements, internships and 
even jobs brokerage. 

  Education and Vocational Training – sport programmes may provide people with 

specific educational opportunities leading to a qualification (or further study), which in 
turn enhance employability and earning prospects.  

  Personal and Social Development – in a general sense, well structured sport 
activities help to improve life skills such as confidence, motivation, self-esteem, 
communication and team-working, and to improve health and access to social capital 
networks. Alongside other support, this may indirectly help individuals into 
employment, through developing some of the essential characteristics associated with 
retention in school, improved employability and/or improved productivity. 

  Volunteering in Sport – through taking up the opportunity to volunteer as a sport 

coach, or other project role, individuals develop vital skills and experience to enhance 
their employability (and may even lead to employment in the sport sector itself).  

Combining these insights with Coalter and Taylor’s (2010) classifications of Plus Sport 
and Sport Plus (see Section 2.1), a two-tier typology was developed to support the 
analysis of a total of 60 relevant projects and initiatives29. The first tier consisted of the 
distinction in the role and function of sport (Sport Plus or Plus Sport), whereas the 
second tier specified the predominant mechanisms that were intended to be achieved. 
Some of the projects have addressed multiple mechanisms and it is worth noting that 
some projects sought to establish development pathways, which leads to multiple 
mechanisms. Table 3.2 provides an overview of the typology. It is worth noting that 
other classification processes have been developed. For example, inFocus (2015) 
provides a project spectrum approach which adds considerable complexity to the 
analysis30, but could be used as a starting point when developing approaches to impact 
(rather than the currently more common process) evaluation of relevant projects.  

26 See for example: Sport England's 'Value of Sport Monitor'; Game of Life: the Impact of Sport and Recreation 
on Society (2012, Sport and Recreation Alliance); CASE programme - social benefits research (forthcoming, 
DCMS); A literature review of the evidence base for culture, the arts and sport policy, Ruiz, 2004, Scottish 
Executive Education Department; and www.beaconcultureandsport.org.uk  
27 Sport Scores: the Costs and Benefits of Sport for Crime Reduction (Summary Report) 
http://www.laureus.com/sites/default/files/publications/laureusecoryssportscores211112.pdf  
28 Sharp, C, Blackmore, J, Kendall, L, Greene, K, Keys, W, MacCauley, A, Schagon, I and Yeshanew, T., (2003). 
Playing for Success: An Evaluation of the Fourth Year, Department for Education and Skills, National 
Foundation for Educational Research. Available at: www.dfes.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/RR402.pdf  
29 Coalter, F. and Taylor, J. (2010) Sport-for-development impact study, A research initiative funded by Comic 
Relief and UK Sport and managed by International Development through Sport. 
30 InFocus (2015) Shaping the S4D-Agenda post 2015. http://impactinfocus.com/wp-
content/uploads/2016/01/Shaping-the-S4D-Agenda-Post-2015.pdf  

10 

 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
Table 3.2  Two-tier typology 

Primary Tier 

Secondary Tier 

Sport Plus 
Plus Sport 

  Employability Support  
  Education and Vocational Training  
  Personal and Social Development  
  Volunteering in Sport  

Through the stakeholder interviews, the relevance of this classification was supported 
through anecdotal evidence. For instance, some projects provided anecdotes of 
participants engaging in projects on a volunteer basis which led to involvement in coach 
education and training programmes and culminated as an entry point for new a new 
career. The following section provides a descriptive overview of the projects analysed 
using this typology. 

11 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
4.0  Overview of the projects  

This section presents the application of the two-tier typology to 63 relevant projects 
from a broad range of EU Member States (AT, BE, DE, ES, FI, FR, HR, HU, IE, IT, NL, PL. 
PT, SK, UK) plus Norway. This is by no means a complete list of projects that are 
currently being implemented and have been implemented over the past 8 years, but 
rather a small selection to give an impression of what types of projects are typically 
being implemented. Project summaries with more detail can be found in the Annex.  

It is noteworthy, that some of the projects are delivered within the framework of 
national programmes. For instance, in Germany within the “Integration durch Sport” 
national programme, there are thousands of projects at the local level which receive 
funding through the national level. For some of the network projects (e.g. SPIN and 
ESPIN), there are also separate projects in participating partner countries. For obvious 
reasons, not all of them can be analysed. Where relevant though, reference will be made 
in Section 5 to these national level and network projects as they provide important 
contextual and administrative structures. 

The two-tiered typology classifies projects by looking at their desired outcomes, thus 
whether the main objective is to increase participation in sports (Sport Plus) or whether 
an organisation emphasises the use of sport as a tool for social change (Plus Sport). 
While Plus Sport specifically strives to foster social change, social benefits can also be 
experienced by participants of Sports Plus projects. A distinction was consequently be 
made of projects supporting the employability of participants, education and vocational 
training opportunities, personal and social development and volunteering in sport. An 
overview of the projects according to these typologies can be found in Table 4.1. 

Table 4.1  Application of the two-tier typology to relevant projects 

Secondary tier 

Evaluated 

Project Name 
(Country) 

Primary tier 

Sport 
Plus 

Plus 
Sport 

Employability 

Education 

Personal and 
Social 
Development 

Volunteer-
ing 

Y/N 

X 

X 

X 

X 

Caritas Styria 
(AT) 

Sports clubs and 
schools 
collaborations 
(AT) 

Integration 
through Sport 
(AT)  

Sport Union Tyrol 
– Le Debut (AT) 

SIQ! (Sport-
Integration-
Qualification!) 
(AT) 

FEFA (Football , 
Etudes, Familles 
- Anderlecht) 
(BE) 

Rising You(th) 
(BE) 

12 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

N 

Y 

Y 

N 

N 

N 

N 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Project Name 
(Country) 

Primary tier 

Secondary tier 

Evaluated 

Sport 
Plus 

Plus 
Sport 

Employability 

Education 

Personal and 
Social 
Development 

Volunteer-
ing 

Y/N 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

Jeunes réfugiés à 
Kraainem 
Football (BE) 

Discover Football 
(DE) 

SG Egelsbach – 
Mitternachtsfuß-
ball (Midnight 
Football) (DE) 

Türkiyemspor 
(DE) 

Spin – Sport 
Interkulturell 
(DE) 

Kicking Girls: 
Easy access to 
girls (DE) 

Der BUS (DE) 

H.O.P.E. (DE) 

Cross-cultural 
bonding through 
exercise (DE) 

More Female 
Migrants in Sport 
(DE) 

Inclusion through 
Qualification (DE) 

Integration 
through Sport 
(DE) 

The “Sport with 
Muslim girls and 
young women” 
project (DE) 

Willkommen im 
Fussball (DE) 

Tant se val d’on 
venim (It doesn’t 
matter where we 
come from) (ES) 

Interocio por la 
Diversidad (ES) 

Red Deporte y 
Cooperación (ES) 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

Y 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

13 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Project Name 
(Country) 

Primary tier 

Secondary tier 

Evaluated 

Sport 
Plus 

Plus 
Sport 

Employability 

Education 

Personal and 
Social 
Development 

Volunteer-
ing 

Y/N 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

SMS Solidario/ 
Professional 
Football with 
Refugees (ES) 

LaLigaNonStop 
(ES) 

International 
supporters group 
with African 
drumming (FI) 

Benefiting of 
Sports for Social 
Inclusion 
(BOSSI) (FI) 

Peer Instructor 
Training for 
Immigrant 
Women (FI) 

Sportis Plus (FI) 

Sport Dans la 
Ville (FR) 

Croatia Centre 
for Peace Studies 
(CPS) (HR) 

BeFitIn – 
Integration 
through sport in 
Hungary (HU) 

The African Stars 
Football Team 
(HU) 

Oltalom Sport 
Association 
(OSA) (HU) 

Africa Week 
Athletics (IE) 

SARI Soccerfest 
(IE) 

Football 
Association of 
Ireland (IE) 

Corduff 
Community 
Youth Project 
(IE) 

14 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Project Name 
(Country) 

Primary tier 

Secondary tier 

Evaluated 

Sport 
Plus 

Plus 
Sport 

Employability 

Education 

Personal and 
Social 
Development 

Volunteer-
ing 

Y/N 

X 

X 

Liberi Nantes 
football and 
touch rugby (IT) 

Migrants’ 
Inclusion Model 
of Sports for All  
(MIMoSA) (IT) 

Arcobaleni 
(Rainbows) (IT) 

Sport for girls 
(IT) 

Cricket 
Tournaments (IT) 

Cruijff Courts 
(NL) 

Alna School 
Project (NO) 

Etnoliga (PL) 

The Choices Ball 
Forward 
(Escolhas Bola 
p’ra Frente) and 
Choices Younger 
(Escolhas Mais 
Jovem) (PT) 

Judo in uptown 
Lisbon (Judo na 
Alta de Lisboa) 
(PT) 

Different Colours 
United (SK) 

British Asian 
Rugby 
Association (UK) 

Women in Action 
(UK) 

Anti-racism 
action plan (UK) 

Street Games 
(UK) 

Lilian Baylis Old 
School (UK) 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

Y 

N 

15 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Project Name 
(Country) 

Primary tier 

Secondary tier 

Evaluated 

Sport 
Plus 

Plus 
Sport 

Employability 

Education 

Personal and 
Social 
Development 

Volunteer-
ing 

Y/N 

Positive Futures, 
Sport Action 
Zones, and 
Active 
Communities 
(UK) 

Grasshoppers 
Rugby Football 
Club (UK) 

X 

X 

X 

Sport 4 Life (UK) 

X 

X 

X 

Perceptions & 
Experiences of 
Rugby League: 
Asian Muslim 
young people 
(UK) 

Asian Football 
Network (AFN) 
(UK) 

Be Apart of it 
(UK)  

The Refugee 
Cricket Project 
(UK) 

Canterbury 
Rugby Club (UK) 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

X 

N 

X 

X 

X 

X 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

N 

A total of 63 projects were gathered illustrating specific sports initiatives aimed at the 
inclusion of the migrant population in local communities. Of these projects, 43 were 
categorised as Sports Plus projects, 20 as Plus Sport projects although 1 contained 
strong elements of both31. The most prevalent (secondary) objective of the projects was 
the social and personal development of participants. 61 out of the 63 projects (97%) aim 
to develop the confidence, self-esteem and social skills of their participants. 18 of the 
projects (28%) actively seek to support access to education and training for their 
participants, frequently leading to the acquisition of a qualification of some kind. 15 
projects (25%) stimulate the importance of volunteering in sport (e.g. as a sports coach) 
and 7 projects (11%) aim to increase the employability of their participants through their 
outreach programmes. It is interesting to note that to date only four projects have 
engaged in some evaluation activity. It is worth noting though that for instance 
“Integration durch Sport” in Germany has contracted academic support who are 
evaluating the project outputs on a continuous basis. Similarly, NIBS in the Netherlands 
is engaged with evaluation activity and has close ties to the academic community where 
approaches to evaluating social impact of programmes are being developed32.  

31 Football Tournament “Cartellino rosso al razzismo” (show racism the red card) of UISP Genova and Macaia 
Association (IT).  
32 According to NIBS, there are two Master level studies at the moment.  One is examining the attitudes of 
refugees towards sport, which addresses the cultural limitations that engagement in sport may face (see also 

16 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                           
Sport Plus 

Projects in this category mainly aim to increase the active involvement of the target 
group in sports activities. This is mainly done through the reduction of the barriers to 
sports, for instance through the provision of resources, equipment and coaching. 
Another strategy to reduce the barrier to sports is to focus on the inclusion of a specific 
target group. There are a number of projects that have adopted this strategy and are 
focusing on a specific group within the community, such as young people, women and 
girls, refugees and asylum seekers or individuals with specific backgrounds.  

Sport Union Tyrol, for instance, works with the “Women from all countries” club, the 
Turkish-Islamic cultural association ATIB and Girlspoint ARANEA on the project Sport 
Union Tyrol – Le Debut. This project is specifically aimed at women and girls with 
different backgrounds in Tyrol, Austria. The project combines regular exercise modules 
and taster sessions of individual sports with presentations on health through exercise 
and nutrition. The programme is jointly developed with the girls and women and adapted 
to performance levels. For women, for instance, they offer gymnastics, hiking, pilates, 
yoga and dancing, while the project offers hip-hop and modern dance, tummy-leg-
bottom, climbing, skating and volleyball for girls. This project is exemplary as it fosters 
the inclusion of target groups that are generally inactive and removed from sports 
through fun and trendy sports activities as well as promoting their involvement as a 
volunteer.   

Several of the identified projects aimed at the inclusion of migrant girls and women 
through sport have also been noted in Germany. An exemplary project is the Sport with 
Muslim girls and young women organised by the Youth Sport Lower Saxony. This 
project reaches out to young Muslim girls at known meeting places and facilities such as 
youth organisations, school, cultural centres and mosques. The mosque, for instance, is 
seen as an important meeting place for young Muslim women, thus offering sports 
programmes at that location ensures a feeling of security for both the girls and their 
parents. The mosque offers a room for a regular sport programme after the Saturday 
Qur’an lessons, and on average roughly twelve girls participate per session. 

A number or organisations have opted to focus on increasing the participation of young 
people (and in some cases, specifically young refugees) in sports. In the Netherlands, for 
instance, the Cruijff Foundation has built 173 so-called “Cruijff Courts” in numerous 
disadvantaged neighbourhoods across the country (as well as 35 courts outside the 
Netherlands), offering young people a safe place to practice sports as well as creating a 
meeting place for people from a range of backgrounds. In cooperation with 
neighbourhoods, the local government, private organisations, schools, sports and 
football associations, professional football clubs and the local business community, 
activities are organised on the Cruijff courts with the main aim of bringing young people 
together and improving the social cohesion in the community. Roughly 100,000 children 
are engaged in sports activities on the courts per week.  

A common strategy employed by organisations is the development of a particular sports 
team or league specifically for individuals with a migration background. In Hungary, for 
instance, the Mahatma Gandhi Human Rights Organization created the African Stars 
Football Team which is composed mainly of refugees, ex-refugees and migrants that 
have successfully received their residence permit. Similarly, in Slovakia, the Different 
Colours United project of the Institute for Intercultural Dialogue organises a football 
team consisting of refugees, asylum seekers, Roma and locals. In Poland, Fundacja dla 
Wolnosci has set up an entire football league, named Etnoliga, where refugees, 
migrants and Poles compete in a football league. There are generally around 12-20 
teams participating in the league and each team must consist of at least three men, 
three women and three nationalities. Approximately 1000 people from over 50 countries 
participate annually. Lastly, in the United Kingdom, the Refugee Cricket Project was 

Section 5). The second is examining the changing attitudes of locals towards refugees through engaging in 
joint sports activities to address issues such as prejudice and behaviour change. 

17 

 
 
                                                                                                                                   
set up by Cricket For Change and the Refugee Council allowing young refugees to 
practice a traditionally English sport while interacting with other migrants, improving 
their English-language skills and when needed receiving individual advice and support 
from trained staff.  

Plus Sport  

Projects that fall under the ‘Plus Sport’ category place less importance on increasing 
sports participation among the target group, but rather use sports as a springboard to 
further social outcomes, such as improving educational attainment, decreasing crime, 
and encouraging personal and social development.  

An example of a project that uses football as a hook for the engagement of young people 
in other activities is the FEFA (Football - Etudes - Familles – Anderlecht) project in 
Anderlecht, Belgium. This project combines the organisation of football training sessions 
with homework support and counselling sessions. The project focuses on three elements: 
football, school and family. There are eight football teams that train twice a week and 
participate in the regional championships. All young people registered with the project 
receive additional support at school, predominantly through a homework support session 
in the classrooms of a nearby school. Lastly, young people and their families receive 
psychosocial support through administrative support, support in solving issues at school, 
and support in tackling personal or familial problems. This project aptly shows how 
sports can be combined with other support structures in order to tackle social issues 
experienced both by individual young people as well as their families.  

In Germany, RheinFlanke employs an innovative method for the engagement of young 
refugees through sport, ultimately contributing to their language development. The NGO 
runs the “BUS” project, in which trained staff travel across Cologne in a large converted 
bus with a wide range of sports equipment. They travel to different locations where 
refugees are in emergency accommodation to offer a distraction from their daily lives 
and their past traumatic experiences through a range of leisure activities. They provide a 
range of sports activities as well as offering initial language training in a playful manner. 
The BUS also offers a consultation room, where individuals can receive individualised 
support to discuss problems or to actively plan their integration process (for instance, 
through participation in other projects such as H.O.P.E. or the “Work for You” 
programme).   

While some projects are localised and aimed at a specific community, there are also 
examples of larger scale projects that offer a range of activities at different locations. 
These larger projects tend to be more likely include initiatives that foster the 
employability of their beneficiaries. An example of a large-scale project that supports the 
engagement and integration of disadvantaged young people through sport is Sport 
Dans la Ville (Sport in the City) which operates in Lyon, Paris, Grenoble and Saint 
Etienne (France). The organisation aims to engage disadvantaged young people through 
a range of activities, including sports activities, social and cultural outings, the provision 
of workshops supporting the reading and writing skills of 7-11 year-olds, support in 
finding employment and training opportunities and lastly support in the development of 
enterprise skills and support in starting-up a business. Young people are supported in 
terms of gaining self-confidence and values essential to future success, including 
respect, commitment, openness, perseverance, and work experience. 

Evaluated projects 

Evaluations have only been found for a small number of projects. A potential explanation 
is that a large number of the projects included in the overview are grassroots projects 
and may therefore not have been evaluated due to a lack of resources, lack of capacity 
or because evaluation activities beyond the collection of participation data was not 
required. The Sport Inclusion Network (SPIN) for instance, attempted to evaluate the 
Finish project Benefiting of Sports for Social Inclusion (BOSSI) and the Italian 

18 

 
 
 
 
Migrants’ Inclusion Model of Sports for All (MIMoSA)33 but were unable to do so 
due to a lack of data.  

Moreover, it is also possible that existing evaluations have not been made publically 
available and thus have not been located through an online search. In Austria, there are 
several projects that fall under the Integration through Sport aspect of the National 
Action Plan for Integration (NAP), and have thus been evaluated as part of this 
programme. This is also the case in Germany, where the numerous projects also falls 
under a large-scale government programme similarly entitled “Integration through 
Sport” (Integration durch Sport). The German More than Female Migrants in Sport 
project of the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) has additionally been 
evaluated, but the evaluation report is not publically available. The Street Games 
organisation in the United Kingdom on the other hand has carried out numerous 
evaluations (mainly using survey data) of its projects, and has published all of the 
reports online34.  

33 See the final evaluation report Sport Inclusion Network (SPIN): Involving migrants in mainstream sport 
institutions  (2012) here: 
http://www.footballforequality.org/fileadmin/mediapool/pdf/spin/SPIN_Final_Evaluation_Report.pdf 
34 http://www.streetgames.org/resources/research-insight-reports  

19 

 
 
 
 
                                           
5.0  What works, how and why? 

The analysis so far has highlighted that the projects and initiatives are extremely diverse 
in the sports they cover, the approaches they utilise, their duration and with regards to 
their overall aim. However, many of them combine several factors that support the 
success of these projects and initiatives. These include: Positive societal context, 
creating ownership, cultural exchange, development pathways, funding 
structures, enhancing cultural sensitivity, enhancing administrative capability 
and issues around the transferability of projects. These are discussed in turn 
below. 

From the project analysis and the stakeholder interviews it became apparent that 
overall, successful projects employed a two pronged approach, engaging migrants as 
well as supporting existing, local clubs and organisations to establish participation 
opportunities and thus creating safe and sustainable sports offers which are owned by 
participants and the host community alike. This is not to say that interventions solely 
targeted at one particular group (e.g. participation opportunities for instance in refugee 
camps to distract from the stressful and emotionally draining camp environment) are not 
successful, but their effect in terms of integration into the host society is possibly 
limited. Additionally, it is important to note, that successful projects often combined a 
number of key success factors. 

5.1 

Positive societal context 

Successful projects benefitted generally from a more positive political and societal 
climate, where political support for initiatives was strong and openly communicated. At 
the population level, stakeholders pointed out that the more open the population was 
towards migrants and in the recent context particularly refugees, the more buy in and 
initiative from across the population could be achieved. In Austria for example “people 
just went and did something, created offers, without targeted support being in place” as 
one of the stakeholders commented. However, it is important to note, that the positive 
and open attitude is fragile and depends strongly on media reporting and a changing 
political climate. Stakeholders from Austria as well as the Netherlands commented that 
while initially, attitudes were very open and people willing to engage, this has now 
shifted towards more critical engagement with the migrant crisis. Other countries, where 
the general attitude was much more negative (e.g. Hungary and to some extent France) 
organisations faced an uphill battle to find support for their projects according to 
stakeholders. 

Support through awareness raising campaigns that engaged the population (e.g. the 
FARE (Football against Racism in Europe) project which engaged the football fan 
community in several EU Member States) were seen as important. This bottom-up 
approach to changing opinions was seen as particularly effective because it allowed 
people to engage with a topic, ask critical questions and offered them an opportunity to 
take action. These sorts of interventions were possible at a grassroots level with a fairly 
small budget but could have a positive effect at the local level. Positive portrayal in the 
media was more difficult to achieve particularly at the national level, depending on the 
political orientation of the medium, and this was a factor that needed to be considered. 
Largely this goes back to the political support as well as the support through large 
stakeholder organisations that had the resources for large scale campaigns which could 
launch at the national level. This sort of campaign, however, required a coordinated 
strategy and therefore is more suited for larger organisations with a national reach. 

20 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Case Study: Croatia Centre for Peace Studies (CPS) 

What is it? 

The organisation aims to raise awareness and educate the Croatian 
public about refugees and asylum seekers to ensure that any future 
attempt at integration is not met with hostility. 

CPS runs various projects to integrate migrants, some of which use 
sport as a focus point. They ran an awareness raising campaign with 
football fans of a Zagreb club (Bijeli anđeli or the White angels) 
against xenophobia and racism. The campaign raised the issue of 
discrimination against minorities with different skin colours, 
especially refugees. This campaign started just before the 2014 
Football World Cup in Brazil along with the FARE campaign “All 
colours are beautiful”, this enabled CPS to use the major sporting 
event as a platform to publicise the awareness raising campaign.  

  Using a major sporting event enabled the awareness raising 

campaign to maximise its impact. 

  The national sport in Croatia is football, promoting the 

 

integration of migrants through a relatable topic increased the 
audience. 
Increasing awareness of the refugee situation will hopefully make 
the public more sympathetic to the cause, however it could 
potentially have the opposite effect if done wrong. 

Key 
and 
factors: 

outcomes 
success 

5.2 

Creating Ownership 

Most of the stakeholders highlighted the creation of ownership of the programmes as a 
key success factor. It was seen as little effective to offer engagement opportunities that 
did not match with the needs and preferences of the target population. As it was difficult 
to understand exactly the underlying preferences which were influenced by cultural 
background, the engagement of the migrant population in the design and 
implementation of the programmes was seen as an effective way to increase buy-in and 
participation and to focus opportunities on the expectations and requirements of the 
target population. Projects in the UK in disadvantaged communities have also shown that 
this kind of approach breaks down barriers to engagement and possible resentment of 
someone external “imposing” an intervention (e.g. an Us versus Them feeling).  

Giving individuals ownership also empowers them, raises self-confidence and self-
esteem which may have been affected negatively through the arduous journey to the 
settlement country.. The sense of achievement opens up new avenues for engagement, 
possibly establishing links into volunteering and employment pathways (also see section 
5.4).  

Case Study: Sport Union Tyrol – Le Debut, Austria 

What is it? 

The project is aimed at women and girls of different countries of 
origin. The goals are the introduction to active movement, the 
mediation of enjoyment and health awareness through movement 
and the achievement of sustainability through independent activity.  

The programme range combines regular exercise modules and taster 
sessions of individual sports with presentations on health through 
exercise and nutrition. The programme is jointly developed with the 
girls/women and adapted to performance levels and interests 
(women: gymnastics, hiking, pilates, yoga, dancing; girls: hip hop, 
modern dance, tummy-leg-bottom, climbing, skating, volleyball).  

21 

 
 
Case Study: Sport Union Tyrol – Le Debut, Austria 

Key 
and 
factors: 

outcomes 
success 

Exemplary here is the inclusion of target groups remote from sport – 
many of the women had neither physical education at school nor 
were involved in sport before– as well as the introduction to fun and 
trend sports. In addition, participants can – in the sense of helping 
people to help themselves be trained to become fitness trainers. 

5.3 

Cultural exchange 

One of the most frequently offered opportunities in the projects that were analysed is 
the opportunity to engage with people from the local community. This gives locals as 
well as migrants the opportunity to meet in a safe and (through the rules of sport) also 
regulated place and get to know each other. For the local community, this brings the 
benefit of breaking down barriers and prejudices, while for the migrants it offers an 
informal way to establish links into the community, improve their language skills and 
establish social networks, which could potentially lead on to opportunities for 
employment.  

The JoinIn! Project in the Netherlands facilitated clubs meeting with refugees, offering a 
safe, non-pressure environment for clubs to gather experience engaging with migrants 
and for migrants to experience the club environment, thus facilitating not only cultural 
exchange but also capacity building within the clubs. There was occasional evidence from 
the interviews that clubs needed to open up more with regards to migrants and see the 
wider benefits this would bring. Stakeholders in Sweden, for instance, reported that 
while most refugees settled in urban areas, particularly rural clubs had embraced 
funding opportunities available and viewed the engagement with migrants as a lifeline to 
their club and local community. The migrants were viewed as a benefit as they brought 
additional club members, potential coaches and, because on average they had bigger 
families, also a rejuvenation of their towns where young people had moved to the cities 
for universities and work. 

Engagement and cultural exchange in clubs was also seen as a way to produce additional 
health and well-being effects, including for instance loneliness, depression and lack of 
physical activity. This was one of the key outcomes in a project run by the Swiss 
Development Agency in partnership with several organisations in Hungary (see Box). 

Case Study: BeFitIn – Integration through sport in Hungary,Hungary 

Hungary  is  struggling  with  a  continual  decrease  in  population,  an 
aging  population  and  economic  stagnation.  Legal  immigration  and 
effective integration measures could reverse these trends. This is why 
SAD,  and  local  partners  Szubjektiv  and  Utopia,  launched  the  pilot 
project “Integration through sport in Hungary”. The active integration 
of  migrants  in  local  sports  clubs  should  help  them  find  their  feet  in 
their  new  country,  and  make  the  host  country  more  open  and 
tolerant towards new arrivals. 

The  “Sport  and  cultural  diversity”  approach  sees  sports  clubs  as 
meeting  places  in  which  intercultural  exchange  can  take  place  in  a 
very natural, informal setting. People with migrant backgrounds have 
the opportunity to make friends, to access  other areas  of society, to 
develop social recognition through sporting achievement and to learn 
and  practice  the  local  language.  Particularly  for  female  migrants, 
sports  clubs  can  provide  an  opportunity  to  leave  the  closed  home 
setting  regularly  and  to  counteract  the  negative  effects  of  loneliness 
and  isolation  through  contact  with  the  locals  and  physical  activity. 

What is it? 

22 

 
 
 
 
 
Case Study: BeFitIn – Integration through sport in Hungary,Hungary 

Clubs can get new members and ensure the long-term viability of the 
club.  They  have  the  possibility  of  discovering  new  sporting  talents 
and fostering tolerance, respect and solidarity between members. 

The  project  partners  thereby  contribute  to  winning  sports  clubs  over 
to integrating people with migrant backgrounds, and help them to do 
this.  At  the  same  time,  they  motivate  migrants  to  take  part  in  sport 
and  help  them  to  find  sports  clubs.  The  project  provides  migrants 
with  integration  opportunities  in  everyday  life,  and  promotes  mutual 
effort in bringing people closer together. The programme is a step on 
the  way  to  developing  sustainable  integration  policy  in  Hungary  and 
breaks new ground in finding solutions to the country’s economic and 
demographic problems. 

  Project provided a win-win situation for the migrants/ refugees as 

well as for the sports clubs 

  Capacity building on the part of the sports clubs was vital as this 
breaks down fears about not to be able to cope with their needs 
  Positive  effects  are  expected  with  regards  to  breaking  down 
integration/ 

stereotypes  as  well  as  supporting  the  active 
acceptance into civil society of migrants/ refugees 
Integration  of  migrants  as  a  solution  to  demographic  as  well  as 
economic  problems  (due  to  shrinking  work 
force).  Better 
integrated people are more likely to contribute economically. 

 

Key 
and 
factors: 

outcomes 
success 

  Actively  supporting  physical  and  emotional  wellbeing  through 

physical activity 

5.4 

Development pathways  

Sport participation and sport clubs offer unique opportunities for engagement and 
personal development through and with sport. Sports clubs by and large are run by 
volunteers with a variety of roles to fulfil, including the administrative and managerial 
side as well as the coaching side. Studies for instance on the diversity of the teaching 
profession have shown that ethnic minority teachers function as role models and are 
thus uniquely positioned to raise aspirations and act as mediators between the different 
cultural worlds of the home and host country35. Sport can fulfil a similar function when 
integrating refugees and individuals with a migration background into the coaching and 
organisation functions of sports clubs. Some of the stakeholders viewed the participation 
opportunities as a three step process that started with participation in open activities, led 
to joining a club and then led to volunteer engagement. The associated benefits with 
volunteer engagement partially overlap with those of mere cultural exchange (e.g. 
creation of networks, improvement of language skills, enhancing employability), but go 
far beyond this as volunteer engagement, and particularly coaching roles require 
qualifications. Several of the stakeholders outlined the transition of migrants into entirely 
new professions as health and fitness professionals through their engagement with 
sport. It was therefore vital in the eyes of the stakeholders, that participation 
opportunities had pathways associated with them that allowed individuals to transition 
into volunteer roles and into local clubs as seamlessly as possible. 

As outlined in the methodology (see Section 3), sport can also be used as hook to draw 
people into engagement with wider reaching qualifications or to achieve social outcomes 
as a primary goal. One such example is a project in Belgium, Rising You(th), where 

35 Donlevy, V. Meierkord, A., Rajania, A. (2016) Study on the Diversity within the Teaching Profession with 
Particular Focus on Migrant and/or Minority Background, DG EAC: Brussels  

23 

 
 
 
                                           
young people with a migration background are invited to come along to free climbing 
sessions and to bring their friends. The project does not only offer participation 
opportunities, but offers qualifications in rope access as well as employability support 
and employment advice and brokerage to help young people transition into the labour 
market (see Box). Projects like these offer unique opportunities to engage particularly 
disengaged youth who may struggle to engage in a regulated school environment. 

Case Study: Rising You(th), Belgium 

What is it? 

Key 
and 
factors: 

outcomes 
success 

Rising You(th), a project run by Nature and Minor Ndako, aims to 
create opportunities for migrants and refugees through attracting 
those with an interest in climbing. Refugees over the age of 14 years 
old are invited to come alone or bring friends, creating a multicultural 
integrated society within Brussels. Sessions are free to ensure that 
the programme is inclusive of all groups, often refugees flee war 
zones and as a result can be cash poor. Rising You(th) offer refugees 
the opportunity to train and receive a climbing qualification; Rope 
Access. Once qualified Rising You(th) provides employment 
opportunities to work at height, cleaning windows, restore electricity 
pylons, working in difficult to access places to name a but a few 
opportunities. These employment opportunities integrate the 
refugees as they receive employment and Belgium receives a skilled 
worker. 

  Breaking isolation of young refugees and integrating them 

through sport. 

  Youths are given climbing lessons, improving skills and self-
fulfilment, with the potential opportunity of employment. 

  The organisation promotes entrepreneurship and development of 

young people. 

  Rising You(th) provides a win-win situations, refugees are 
integrated into society through employment, increasing 
confidence and self-esteem whilst contributing to the economy.   

  Using multiple organisations with different skill sets allows the 
programme to draw on strengths of different organisations. 

5.5 

Funding structures 

The conversations with stakeholders revealed complex funding arrangements that 
affected particularly small organisations. On the one hand, this involved a lack of 
information about what funding sources were available and the processes to apply for 
them. On the other hand, stakeholders reported of a distinct lack of capacity to develop 
a successful funding application. Many grassroots clubs and small organisations are run 
by volunteers, who have other professions than managing an organisation. A lack of time 
to engage with and gather knowledge about possible funding opportunities due to 
coaching commitments for instance increases this gap in capacity. This is a universal 
theme across Europe and has evolved in similar research in the UK36 and was raised 
consistently by stakeholders. While in some countries National Governing Bodies offer 
targeted support and there are independent organisations that offer coaching and 
mentoring in business support functions specifically for organisations in the Sport for 
Social Inclusion sector,37 this is by no means a consistent approach and again, 
knowledge about these support opportunities is an issue. 

36 Bertram, C., France, J, Diep, M (2015) Sport for Development Sector Insight, London: Sport England. 
37 See for instance Sported (http://sported.org.uk/) 

24 

 
 
 
 
                                           
Another issue with regards to funding is the relatively short-term nature of funding 
sources available for projects. Feedback from stakeholders as well as from research 
suggests that project funding is generally available for a 1-2 year cycle which leaves 
smaller organisations with a lack of capacity vulnerable when funding expires. Often this 
triggers a constant cycle of searching for funding, continuous changes to programmes so 
that long-term programme effects are difficult to observe as well as frequent adaptations 
of programmes to comply with funding requirements, which in the extreme, may lead to 
some target populations being excluded from delivery (e.g. a focus on women or certain 
age groups may preclude participation of a wider target group who could also benefit 
from the intervention). The diversification of funding streams is therefore paramount to 
the sustainability and longevity of projects and initiatives. Stakeholders in Sweden 
outlined that sports clubs had often teamed up with other church and community 
organisations to combine funding streams and enhance what they could offer, thus 
sharing resources, knowledge and capacity. 

Case Study: Sport Integration Qualification (SIQ) – Caritas Austria 

What is it? 

The programme consists of the following activities:  

Key 
and 
factors: 

outcomes 
success 

 

leisure and sports activities (e.g., sports tournaments, adventure 
days) and assistance in qualifications or jobs in sport; and 
  network possibilities, workshops and panel discussions (on 

themes such as social integration) 

By attending the sports activities, young people are provided with 
access to other activities which allow them to improve their language 
skills and expand their social networks, among other things.  

The SIQ project also sees itself as a socio-educational project (direct 
work with the target group) and platform for sports integration 
(public relations, network and educational work). 

  Multi-channel funding: The project is supported by the European 
Refugee Fund on an annual basis, but other local, regional and 
national government organisations and non-governmental 
organisations also contribute. 

  Communication/ awareness: Because many prejudices towards 

migrants are based on a lack of information, the programme tries 
to raise general understanding among the mainstream society of 
the situation of refugees in the Austrian society, by publicly 
informing and educating people involved in sports activities by 
means of workshops, lectures and courses (e.g. at sports 
conferences). 

  The recruitment of participants is eased by collaborating with 

organisations who work with refugees, schools, sports clubs and 
who use public places (e.g. parks and so-called ‘hot areas’ or 
deprived neighbourhoods) or school facilities. They also distribute 
flyers and monthly newsletters. 

  Collaboration: There are many partners involved from different 

regions and levels (e.g. from schools to sports clubs, from youth 
centres, universities to government institutions) which provide 
the programme with a solid foundation. 

25 

 
 
5.6 

Enhancing cultural sensitivity 

Enhancing cultural sensitivity and understanding is a bilateral process, in fact the 
integration process itself is continuously working towards raising awareness of cultural 
differences and the ability to engage and cope with them. The stakeholder interviews 
outlined frequently that while many grassroots organisations were extremely open to 
developing initiatives and  engaging with migrants and refugees, they frequently reached 
their boundaries when it came to cultural differences. Stakeholders outlined that often 
from a high-level there was an implicit assumption that volunteer coaches at grassroots 
would know how to engage with cultural diversity, but this was not always the case and 
even coaches who had some experience in engaging ethnically diverse groups needed 
support. Stakeholders also outlined that some clubs were quite reserved regarding the 
initial engagement with initiatives to integrate refugees because this kind of intervention 
was beyond their comfort zone and their perceived capacity and skill level. There is a 
role here for support and capacity building in this regard which possibly larger 
organisations with a more coordinating function can fulfil. Engaging migrants as coaches 
can also help to build that capacity, but this requires initial steps to opening up 
provision. This closely links in with some of the previous points in providing development 
and engagement pathways. 

Similarly though, it is also important to not only offer opportunities for cultural 
exchange, but to also offer support to migrants and refugees with regards to cultural 
sensitivities of the host country. For instance, stakeholders in the Netherlands outline a 
desire to create a guide in multiple languages that explained to migrants and refugees 
the Do’s & Don’ts of the club landscape. For instance, the concept of organised sport in 
clubs is not necessarily universal, legal aspects such as insurance during participation 
which is included in membership fees are not necessarily obvious, information sources as 
to where to find sport participation opportunities are frequently difficult to access and so 
any interest in continuing with sport when moving to a settlement city are often 
scuppered by lack of information as well as the overwhelming administrative 
requirements of settling in a location and then a shift in emphasis on finding 
employment. A key aspect with regards to children that was frequently unknown to 
migrants is that in the Netherlands, it is the responsibility of parents to ensure that their 
children can swim due to the prevalence of waterways in the Netherlands. While much of 
this is focused on adults, early engagement of children to enhance their cultural 
sensitivity is a good starting point. 

Case Study: Ostpreussen School, Germany 

What is it? 

Ostpreußen  School  in  Munich  uses  a  cultural  integration  class  to 
integrate  child  refugees  and  encourage  them  to  exercise  more.  The 
school  uses  Muuvit,  an  internationally  applied  platform  for  health 
promotion  and  communication 
in  the  school  setting.  Muuvit 
encourages  the  children  to  engage  in  physical  activity  by  rewarding 
each  ten-minute  stint  with  points  which  they  can  use  to  move 
forward  on  a  virtual  tour.  It  helps  get  children  moving  and  make 
them  curious  about  other  cultures  through  their  virtual  journey  of 
different cities around the world. 

Key 
and 
factors: 

outcomes 
success 

  Encourages children to learn through exercise and movement  
 

Improves  children’s  understanding  of  different  countries,  and 
cultures  

  Promotes integration 

26 

 
 
 
 
 
5.7 

Enhancing administrative capacity 

A key issue that was highlighted by the stakeholders with regards to the sustainability of 
clubs and projects was enhancing their administrative capacity, which has already been 
touched on in Section 5.5. Clubs and small charitable organisations tend to be run by 
volunteers some of the initiatives that were created in immediate response to the 
refugee crisis do not have an organised structure at all and are entirely run by 
individuals or small groups of volunteers, according to stakeholders. The lack of 
administrative capacity for the coordination of initiatives, delivery of sessions, finding 
suitable locations and gaining knowledge about funding opportunities were limiters for 
these organisations that were often difficult to overcome. This was particularly evident in 
organisations that were run by migrants and refugees for migrants and refugees as 
stakeholders in Austria explained. The unfamiliarity of club structures, local political and 
administrative structures and responsibilities made it very difficult for such organisations 
to grow and scale up. Complexity of funding applications, which often native speakers 
had difficulties completing, precluded successful funding applications. There was an 
inherent need to support organisations in this work, while at the same time it was 
necessary from the side of the funders to simplify funding applications and 
administrative burdens.  

Measurement and evaluation provided a particular example here as formal evaluation of 
projects and initiatives to demonstrate their effectiveness is not widespread. Many 
funders require projects to collate administrative data (e.g. number of participants and 
demographics) to demonstrate that they are delivering a project and are reaching 
individuals. But even this process is difficult and requires intensive engagement by the 
funder with the projects to collect and collate the respective data. Again, time restraints 
- when the coach is also the club president - affect these tasks and there is awareness of 
this issue on the side of the funders. Some have implemented electronic tools to collect 
the data, others enter the data themselves. Qualitative project reports outlining key 
events and achievements for the projects are also common, which may involve 
qualitative assessments of project partners and occasionally involve academic and 
research consultancy partners who carry out independent process evaluations. With 
sport for inclusion projects it is inherently difficult to develop sound impact evaluation 
strategies as there are a large number of confounding factors that make it difficult to 
establish causality. Nevertheless, enhancing knowledge and capacity to engage with 
administrative matters and understand the need for monitoring and evaluation should be 
a key priority. 

Case Study: Soccerfest – Sport Against Racism Ireland 

What is it? 

Soccerfest is one of the biggest 7-a-side intercultural football 
tournaments in Europe with approximately 4,500 participants with 
large ethnic diversity. The event is spread over a weekend in the 
summer. 

In August 2015, 32 male teams competed in an eight-group 
tournament, while four women’s teams contested their own cup. 
Team Syria, a team for refugees in Ireland coming from Syria, took 
part in Soccerfest in 2015, with the support of Glentoran FC who 
sponsored the team’s kit. In addition to football, other activities, 
such as Gaelic Games, Tag Rugby, Chess, Table Tennis, Chinese 
Rope. The event also offers a range of cultural activities including 
live entertainment for all the family.  

The key objective is to use a major sports event to create the 
environment for cultural integration and social inclusion.  

27 

 
 
Case Study: Soccerfest – Sport Against Racism Ireland 

Key 
and 
factors: 

outcomes 
success 

As part of the activities participants are given advice on 
mainstreaming into other sports organisations including developing 
links with soccer clubs. 

  Collaboration between government organisations, NGOs and 

business partners: Although football is the focus of the two day 
event, SARI accommodates its strategic alliance partners 
including Dublin Aids Alliance, Africa Centre, New Communities 
Partnership, and Concern Worldwide, NGOs such as UNICEF and 
UNESCO and agencies including Garda Siochana and Dublin City 
Council. The number of volunteer workers is around 200. 

  The organisers actively encourage ‘poaching’ of players by local 

clubs through a showcasing of football talent. Providing pathways 
to mainstream sport is seen as an effective method of culturally 
integrating people from diverse backgrounds. 

  The event is evaluated by a wide range of staff, participants and 
partners. Self-evaluation is done by the volunteers of SARI, the 
feedback of teams and visitors. A report is prepared by the 
Dublin City Council as well as two academic partners, the 
International Centre for Sport Studies (CIES), Switzerland and 
De Montfort University Leicester, UK. Another academic partner, 
Alpha College, Dublin is responsible for the qualitative analysis of 
the event.  

5.8 

Transferability of projects 

While most of these factors apply at a general level and best practice sharing had a high 
priority among stakeholders, they also highlighted that a simple one-to-one transfer of 
projects should be treated with extreme caution. Contextual factors such as the political 
climate, wider attitude of the population, structures within the country, experience level 
with interventions like these as well as capacity issues, among others, greatly affected 
how easily a particular approach can be copied. It is important to carefully assess the 
contextual factors and make adaptations accordingly. Equally, it is important to realise 
that most of the key factors outlined above interact and so simply adapting for instance 
development pathways will not automatically guarantee a successful project. One of the 
biggest factors that will allow ongoing adjustments is monitoring and evaluation. 
Although it is not a priority with many organisations, simply because their main concern 
is to help and support individuals and offer participation opportunities, the ability to 
assess how the project develops and take action is an important support tool. The 
capacity and understanding of evaluation approaches is currently perceived as low and 
therefore should be strengthened and organisations supported in building that capacity. 
Putting this support in place will then enable organisations and clubs to assess best 
practice and project transfer and assess appropriate action. 

28 

 
 
 
 
 
 
6.0  Conclusion  

The refugee crisis represents one of the greatest challenges for European Union 
countries so far. The settlement and integration into the host societies is a key junction 
in creating diverse communities. Sport offers a valuable tool to support this process, 
although it cannot be seen as the cure to all problems. Projects can use sport as a hook 
to draw people into interventions that provide educational outcomes and qualifications or 
sport can be seen as the means by which certain skills are taught (e.g. language, 
teamwork, self-confidence).  

While the projects analysed for this report varied greatly in what they offered and what 
they wanted to achieve, and more over the relevant national context differed 
substantially, there were some factors that emerged from these projects as well as from 
the literature that were prevalent in the more successful ones. These include: 

  a positive societal context, 

  the creation of ownership for the programmes,  

  the opportunity for cultural exchange and learning,  

  the development of pathways into volunteering and skills acquisition,  

  the set-up of sustainable funding structures,  

  the enhancement of cultural sensitivity and  

  the build-up of administrative capacity with regards to monitoring and evaluation. 

It is important to note that these factors are interconnected and improving just one of 
them will rarely lead to an overall successful project. However, they address different 
aspects at programme level as well as at a structural level that will affect and support 
project delivery.  

The interviews with stakeholders as well as project reports and the available research 
suggest a need for improvement and support at a variety of levels. The improvement of 
funding structures was a key element that emerged from the analysis. While in some 
countries there were well supported funding structures, generally the information and 
knowledge about them was seen as an issue. Clubs and small organisations tended to be 
volunteer-led and start up at the very grassroots level and therefore knowledge where 
funding was available or how to apply for it did not exist. Funding applications also 
tended to be very complex and required a level of understanding, also from a legal and 
accounting aspect, that could not necessarily be expected from a volunteer-led 
organisation. Some countries had addressed this by devolving funding applications to the 
regional level, so that the local knowledge could be maximised, others had facilitated an 
easier application process. What the most appropriate approach is needs to be assessed 
on a country-by-country basis as contextual factors will play into this (e.g. experience 
with project funding and the structures already in place). 

Closely connected is the capacity of delivery organisations. Mostly organisations were 
volunteer-led with individuals occupying multiple roles (e.g. the club president is also a 
coach). Time constraints apply as only so much time can be spent on administering the 
organisation and coaching while also having a daily job and a family to coordinate. It is 
important that funders recognise and realise who they are dealing with and that they 
make a realistic assessment of what the available capacity to deal with administrative 
requirements is. The complexity of funding applications for instance is a frequent 
stumbling block with clubs lacking the understanding of what is required because they do 
not hold the required data or have a clear understanding of the process. This often leads 
to organisations not applying for funding at all. Equally, the importance of monitoring 
and evaluation to provide evidence for a project’s or club’s success is not well 
understood. Thus data collection to provide supporting information is often not in place 
or limited. There is a need to develop support structures and build capacity in this regard 
at country-level, but also at higher level. Establishing mentoring support to provide 

29 

 
 
support on a 1-to-1 basis targeted to the individual organisation is one solution, another 
would be to provide extensive multi-channel support and learning platforms, bearing in 
mind the time constraints. Encouragement of linking up with academic or research 
consultancies to support monitoring and evaluation should also be considered. 

A key area that was highlighted by the stakeholders was the exchange of knowledge 
across Europe, although this also applies at local and national level. The Sport for Social 
Inclusion sector is very diverse and fragmented with organisations not all necessarily 
coming from the sport sector. Church groups, small charities, youth organisations, 
migrant organisations all play a role in delivering projects and therefore it is difficult to 
assess what best practice is out there. The reinvention of the wheel was a major concern 
of stakeholders across Europe. Opportunities for exchange at all levels were sought after 
and ways to connect organisations should be explored. This is also expected to lead to 
the formation of local partnerships, where organisations share resources, competences 
and knowledge that can make projects more sustainable. Particularly at EU-level with 
funding available through programmes such as Erasmus+ opportunities to connect 
across Europe were seen as vital. Currently, there are some network projects (for 
instance, the “Level Playing Field” project by ENGSO, SPIN and now ESPIN by VDIC in 
Austria, “Social Inclusion and Volunteering in Sports Clubs in Europe (SIVSCE) , led by 
the Syddansk Universitet, Denmark), but as they are projects, their duration is time-
limited and they may cease to exist. They also target particular organisations or 
geographic areas which may limit their reach. Stakeholders expressed a need for a more 
permanent platform in this regard. The level at which they are located (for instance EU-
wide, member state level, regional or local) also needs to be taken into consideration to 
address issues of fragmentation. 

30 

 
 
 
 
 
Annex One : Sources  

Bertram, C., France, J, Diep, M (2015) Sport for Development Sector Insight, London: 
Sport England. 

Coalter, F. and Taylor, J. (2010) Sport-for-development impact study, A research 
initiative funded by Comic Relief and UK Sport and managed by International 
Development through Sport. Stirling: University of Stirling. 

Collins, M. and Haudenhuyse, R. (2015) Social Exclusion and Austerity Policies in 
England: The Role of Sports in a New Area of Social Polarisation and Inequality? Social 
Inclusion Publication date: 2015/06/25  

Donlevy, V. Meierkord, A., Rajania, A. (2016) Study on the Diversity within the Teaching 
Profession with Particular Focus on Migrant and/or Minority Background, DG EAC: 
Brussels 

DOSB (2016) Integration durch Sport  http://www.integration-durch-
sport.de/de/integration-durch-sport/  [Accessed 18/05/16] 

ENGSO (2012) “Creating a Level Playing Field” - Social Inclusion of Migrants and Ethnic 
Minorities in Sport.  A Guide for European Sports Organisations and Clubs. 
http://www.engso.eu/files/Booklet.pdf  [Accessed 16/05/16] 

European Commission (2016) EU Sport Forum [Online] 
http://ec.europa.eu/sport/forum/#home  [Accessed 18/05/16] 

European Commission (2007) White Paper on Sport.[Online] http://eur-
lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/PDF/?uri=CELEX:52007DC0391&from=EN  
[Accessed 18/05/16] 

Eurostat (2016) Record number of over 1.2 million first time asylum seekers registered 
in 2015. Eurostat news release. 44/2016 - 4 March 2016.  
http://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/documents/2995521/7203832/3-04032016-AP-
EN.pdf/790eba01-381c-4163-bcd2-a54959b99ed6  [Accessed 18/05/16] 

InFocus (2015) Shaping the S4D-Agenda post 2015. http://impactinfocus.com/wp-
content/uploads/2016/01/Shaping-the-S4D-Agenda-Post-2015.pdf  [Accessed 18/05/16] 

Laureus Sport for Good Foundation & Ecorys (2012) Sport scores: The costs and benefits 
of sport for crime reduction. 
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and-benefits-of--sport-for-crime-reduction  [ Accessed 18/05/16]. 

Makarova, E. and Herzog, W. (2014) Sport as a means of immigrant youth integration: 
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Nederlands Instituut voor Sport en Bewegen (2016) JoinIn! Key principles 
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Nederlands Instituut voor Sport en Bewegen (2010) Join in! - Social inclusion of young 
migrants through sport. http://international.nisb.nl/activities/220  [Accessed 16/05/16] 

Ruiz (2004) A literature review of the evidence base for culture, the arts and sport 
policy, Scottish Executive: Edinburgh. 

Sharp, C, Blackmore, J, Kendall, L, Greene, K, Keys, W, MacCauley, A, Schagon, I and 
Yeshanew, T., (2003). Playing for Success: An Evaluation of the Fourth Year, 
Department for Education and Skills, National Foundation for Educational Research. 
Available at: www.dfes.gov.uk/research/data/uploadfiles/RR402.pdf   

31 

 
 
 
SPIN (2012) Inclusion of Migrants in and through Sports. A Good Practice Guide.  
http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europeia_Migracoes/Docume
ntos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf  [Accessed 18/05/16]  

Sport Inclusion Network (SPIN) (2012) Involving migrants in mainstream sport 
institutions  
http://www.footballforequality.org/fileadmin/mediapool/pdf/spin/SPIN_Final_Evaluation_
Report.pdf  [Accessed 17/05/18] 

Sport and Recreation Alliance (2012) Game of Life: the Impact of Sport and Recreation 
on Society. http://sramedia.s3.amazonaws.com/media/documents/2d77274e-af6d-
4420-bdfb-da83c3e64772.pdf  [Accessed 17/05/16]. 

Sport England (2016) Value of Sport Monitor. 
https://www.sportengland.org/research/benefits-of-sport/the-value-of-sport-monitor/  
[Accessed 16/05/16] 

Sport Inclusion Network (SPIN) (2012) A publication in the framework of the European 
project “– Involving migrants in mainstream sport institutions” co-funded by the Sport 
Unit of the European Commission.  

Sporting Equals (2015) Sport For Communities ] 
http://www.sportingequals.org.uk/projects/sport-for-communities.html  [Accessed 
18/05/16] 

Syddansk Universitet (2015) Social inclusion and volunteering in sports clubs in Europe 
(SIVSCE) 
http://www.sdu.dk/en/om_sdu/institutter_centre/c_isc/forskningsprojekter/sivsce/projec
t_description  [Accessed 17/05/16] 

UEFA (2016) UEFA Member Associations and Social Inclusion of Refugees 
Mappinghttp://ec.europa.eu/sport/library/documents/uefa-mapping_en.pdf. [Accessed 
03/08/16]. 

UISP (2012) MIMoSA - Social inclusion through sports: a possible model  
http://www.mimosaproject.net/?p=339  [10/05/16] 

UN (2004) Universal Language of Sport Brings People Together, Teaches Teamwork, 
Tolerance. Secretary-General, Press Release. 
[Online]http://www.un.org/press/en/2004/sgsm9579.doc.htm  [Accessed 18/05/16] 

VIDC FairPlay (2012) European Sport Inclusion Network (ESPIN) Involving migrants in 
mainstream sport institutions - Final Evaluation Report http://www.sportinclusion.net/  
[10/05/16] 

Walseth K. and Fasting K. (2004) Sport as a Means of Integrating Minority Women, 
Sport in Society, 7:1, 109-129 

32 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Annex Two : Contributions by stakeholders  

Name(s) 

Organisation 

Country 

Daniela Conti 

Unione Italiana Sport Per tutti  (UISP) 

Italy 

Heidi Pekkola 

Heike Kübler 

Kurt Wachter 

Euopean Non-Governmental Sports 
Organisations (ENGSO) 

- 

Deutscher Olympischer Sportbund 
(DOSB) 

Vienna Institute for International 
Dialogue and Cooperation (VIDC) 

Maxime Leblanc 

Sport et Citoyenneté 

Germany 

Austria 

France 

Peter Mattson 

Swedish Sports Confederation (SSC)   

Sweden 

Willie Westerhof  
Anita Vlasfeld 

Netherlands Institute for Sport and 
Physical Activity (NISB) 

Netherlands 

Milena De Murga 

Acció Social (Unió de Federacions)  

Spain 

33 

 
 
 
Annex Three : Project summaries 

Projects are ordered by country abbreviation 

Sports clubs and schools collaborations  

ID Number 

Organisation 
Name 

AT – 227 

Member State  

AT 

Delivery Period 

Full reference  

Sport Inclusion Network (2016). Inclusion of Migrants in and 
through Sports - A Guide to Good Practice. [online] 
http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf 
[Accessed 5 May 2016].  

Internet link 

http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf 

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target group 

  Migrants: those with a migration background, including ethnic 

minorities 

Project aims 

Key outcomes and 
success 
factors 
(where available)  

In urban areas, especially in Vienna, there are numerous 
collaborations between football, handball, and basketball clubs and 
schools in the area. In schools in particular areas of Vienna, more 
than 90% of the children are from migrant families. Examples of 
such collaborations include the handball clubs Fivers in the 5th and 
WAT 15 in the 15th districts of Vienna or the football club Slovan 
HAC in the 14th district. Although the Slovan cooperation with the 
school had to be discontinued for financial reasons, a high 
proportion of players are nonetheless from a migrant background. 
This high proportion reaches from junior to senior squad – as is the 
case with most Viennese football clubs. The youth development 
work of the junior handball club Fivers is to be highlighted in 
particular: The club regularly organises training courses at nearby 
schools and parks. The annually held handball festival attracts 
approximately 1.000 students/pupils.  

  As a result of these activities, the junior teams in almost every 
age group have won the championship for many years running. 
In 2011 the senior team won the handball league title for the 
first time. Like practiced at WAT 15, girls can switch to a 
partner club in women’s handball. 

Type 
Intervention  

of 

High level: Sport Plus 

Secondary: Personal and Social Development  

34 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Integration through Sport  

ID Number 

Organisation 
Name 

AT – 229 

Austrian government 

Member State  

AT 

Delivery Period 

2010 -  

Full reference 

Sport Inclusion Network (2016). Inclusion of Migrants in and 
through Sports - A Guide to Good Practice. [online] 
http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf 
[Accessed 5 May 2016].  

Internet link 

http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf 

Evaluated? Y/N 

Y 

Target group 

  Migrants: those with a migration background, including ethnic 

minorities 

Project aims 

Key outcomes and 
success 
factors 
(where available)  

In January 2010 the Austrian government created a nationwide 
integration strategy with the National Action Plan for Integration 
(NAP). Associations that seek the inclusion of migrants as well as 
those promoting the sporting activity of girls and women are 
encouraged and the importance of sport as a means for inclusion is 
given high publicity. There is criticism of NAP with regard to the 
spatial and temporal limitations of many initiatives to promote 
integration: the preference for local and regional activities is not 
suitable to overcome all barriers to inclusion at the level of national 
legislation.  

The Sports Ministry had previously supported a handful of 
individual inclusion projects albeit, without transparent objectives 
with regard to content. In January 2010 a working group (“ARGE 
Sport und Integration”) was set up whose aims are the promotion 
of integration and inclusion activities in and through sport. For 
2012, it is planned to award financial grants to sport clubs, which 
bring their range of services into line with sound and transparent 
criteria on the inclusion of migrants. A currently running pilot phase 
with selected integrative sport projects is to be subjected to 
evaluation in autumn 2011.  

  The mostly locally active sport integrative projects and 

initiatives received cash prizes ranging from 200 to 3000 Euros. 
Alongside these the Austrian Integration Fund allocates 
individual and project related financial awards, such as for 
participation in sports club programmes or the organisation of 
tournaments. 

Type 
Intervention  

of 

High level: Sport Plus 

Secondary: Personal and Social Development  

35 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Sport Union Tyrol – Le Debut 

ID Number 

Organisation 
Name 

Member State  

Delivery Period 

Full reference  

AT – 220 

Sport Union Tyrol, the club, “Women from all countries”, the 
Turkish-Islamic cultural association ATIB and Girlspoint ARANEA 

AT 

-  

Sport Inclusion Network (2016). Inclusion of Migrants in and 
through Sports - A Guide to Good Practice. [online] 
http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf 
[Accessed 5 May 2016].  

Internet link 

http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf  

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target group 

  Women  
  Migrants: those with a migration background, including ethnic 

minorities 

Project aims 

The project is aimed at women and girls of different countries of 
origin. The goals are the introduction to active movement, the 
mediation of enjoyment and health awareness through movement 
and the achievement of sustainability through independent activity.  

The programme range combines regular exercise modules and 
taster sessions of individual sports with presentations on health 
through exercise and nutrition. The programme is jointly developed 
with the girls/women and adapted to performance levels (women: 
gymnastics, hiking, pilates, yoga, dancing; girls: hip hop, modern 
dance, tummy-leg-bottom, climbing, skating, volleyball).  

  Exemplary here is the inclusion of target groups remote from 
sport – many of the women had neither physical education at 
school nor were involved in sport before– as well as the 
introduction to fun and trend sports. In addition, participants 
can – in the sense of helping people to help themselves be 
trained to become fitness trainers. 

Key outcomes and 
success 
factors 
(where available)  

Type 
Intervention  

of 

High level: Sport Plus 

Secondary: Personal and Social Development / Volunteering in 
Sport  

Sport Integration Qualification (SIQ) 

ID Number 

AT - 501 

Organisation 
Name 

Caritas Styria 

Member State  

AT 

Delivery Period 

Not clear from the information available 

Full reference  

ENGSO (2012) Creating a Level Playing Field: Social inclusion of 
migrants and ethnic minorities in Sport, ENGSO – European Non-
Governmental Sports Organisation 

36 

 
 
 
Sport Integration Qualification (SIQ) 

Internet link 

https://www.caritas-steiermark.at/hilfe-angebote/migrantinnen-
fluechtlinge/integration/siq-sport-integration-qualifkation/  

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target group 

Migrant youth: refugees and beneficiaries of subsidiary protection 
ages 5-21 years. 

Project aims 

The programme consists of the following activities:  

Key outcomes and 
factors 
success 
(where available)  

 

leisure and sports activities (e.g., sports tournaments, 
adventure days) and assistance in qualifications or jobs in 
sport; and 

  network possibilities, workshops and panel discussions (on 

themes such as social integration) 

By attending the sports activities, young people are provided with 
access to other activities which allow them to improve their 
language skills and expand their social networks, among other 
things.  

The SIQ project also sees itself as a socio-educational project 
(direct work with the target group) and platform for sports 
integration (public relations, network and educational work). 

ENGSO (2012) identify a number of key elements of the 
programme:  

  Multi-channel funding: The project is supported by the 

European Refugee Fund on an annual basis, but other local, 
regional and national government organisations and non-
governmental organisations also contribute. 

  Communication/raise awareness: Because many prejudices 
towards migrants are based on a lack of information, the 
programme tries to raise general understanding among the 
mainstream society of the situation of refugees in the Austrian 
society, by publicly informing and educating people involved in 
sports activities by means of workshops, lectures and courses 
(e.g. at sports conferences). 

  The recruitment of participants is eased by collaborating with 

organisations who work with refugees, schools, sportsclubs and 
who use public places (e.g. parks and so-called ‘hot areas’ or 
deprived neighbourhoods) or school facilities. They also 
distribute flyers and monthly newsletters. 

  Collaboration: There are many partners involved from different 
regions and levels (e.g. from schools to sports clubs, from 
youth centres, universities to government institutions) which 
provide the programme with a solid foundation. 

Type 
Intervention 

of 

High level: Plus Sport 

Secondary: Education and Vocational Training / Employability 
Support / Personal and Social Development 

37 

 
 
 
Rising You(th) 

ID Number 

Organisation 
Name 

BE-106 

Nature, Stretch Your Mind and Minor Ndako 

Member State  

BE 

Delivery Period 

2014 – ongoing  

Full reference 

Internet link 

http://nature.be/nl/verticalclub/  

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target group 

  Single minor refugees: newly arrived migrants 

Project aims 

Key outcomes and 
success 
factors 
(where available)  

1 in 5 unemployed youths in Flanders have a migration 
background, and this number rises when looking at Brussels as a 
whole. Rising You(th) a project run by Nature and Minor Ndako, 
aims to create opportunities for migrants and refugees through 
attracting those with an interest in climbing. Refugees over the age 
of 14 years old are invited to come alone or bring friends, creating 
a multicultural integrated society within Brussels. Sessions are free 
to ensure that the programme is inclusive of all groups, often 
refugees flee war zones and as a result can be cash poor.   

Rising You(th) offer refugees the opportunity to train and receive a 
climbing qualification; Rope Access. Once qualified Rising You(th) 
provides employment opportunities to work at height, cleaning 
windows, restore electricity pylons, working in difficult to access 
places to name a but a few opportunities. These employment 
opportunities integrate the refugees as they receive employment 
and Belgium receives a skilled worker. 

  Breaking isolation of young refugees and integrating them 

through sport. 

  Youths are given climbing lessons, improving skills and self-
fulfilment, with the potential opportunity of employment. 
  The organisation promotes entrepreneurship and development 

of young people. 

  Rising You(th) provides a win-win situations, refugees are 
integrated into society through employment, increasing 
confidence and self-esteem whilst contributing to the economy.   

  Using multiple organisations with different skill sets allows the 
programme to draw on strengths of different organisations. 

Type 
Intervention 

of 

High level: Plus Sport 

Secondary: Education and Vocational Training / Employability 
Support / Personal and Social Development  

38 

 
 
 
 
 
 
FEFA (Football - Etudes - Familles – Anderlecht) 

ID Number 

Organisation 
Name 

BE-309 

FEFA Asbl 

Member State  

BE 

Delivery Period 

Full reference 

Internet link 

Anderlecht.be. (2016). FEFA. [online] Available at: 
http://www.anderlecht.be/veiligheid-preventie/preventie/fefa  
[Accessed 5 May 2016]. 

http://www.anderlecht.be/veiligheid-preventie/preventie/fefa 
http://www.vub.ac.be/SBMA/sites/default/files/file/Docs%20SBMA/
Booklet%20ENGSO,%20Marc%20en%20Zeno.pdf 

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target group 

  Young people in disadvantaged areas 

Project aims 

Key outcomes and 
factors 
success 
(where available)  

FEFA (Football – Studies – Family – Anderlecht) is a project in which 
young people play football as well as being supported with 
homework or counselling sessions.  The project is open to young 
people between the ages of 6 and 20. It is open to pupils of the 
Leonardo da Vinci school, young people from Kuregem as well as 
other young people living in the municipality.  

The project runs in Kuregem (Brussels) a particularly 
socioeconomically disadvantaged neighbourhood with a large 
migrant population. The project consists of three components: 
1. Football: there are eight teams that represent Brabant during the 
regional championships organised annually by the Belgian Football 
Association. Players train twice a week in the Vercauteren stadium 
near the Leonardo da Vinci school. 
2. School: all young people registered with the project receive 
additional support at school, predominantly through a homework 
support session in the classrooms of the Leonardo da Vinci school. 
3. Family: the young people and their families receive psychosocial 
support through administrative support, support in solving issues at 
school, and support in tackling personal or familial problems. 

The project therefore not only seeks to develop the social and life 
skills through football, but also focuses on their school performance. 
It furthermore supports young people individually by offering 
information about job possibilities, for instance.  

  FEFA is the winner of the Belgian Security and Crime Prevention 

Award of 2011 

  The association supports roughly 145 students between the 

ages of 6 and 20 

  Next to regular football sessions, the young people are 
encouraged to focus on their school work. Their school 
performance is monitored, and school reports must be shown at 
the end of each semester.  

  The homework support sessions are organised for about 100 

children and young people. 

  The project not only focuses on improving the social inclusion of 
young people, but aims to improve the family situation through 
personalised support to families.   

39 

 
 
 
 
  
FEFA (Football - Etudes - Familles – Anderlecht) 

Type 
Intervention 

of 

High level: Plus Sport 

Secondary: Education and Vocational Training, Personal and Social 
Development   

Jeunes réfugiés à Kraainem Football 

ID Number 

Organisation 
Name 

BE - 401 

Kraainem Football Club 

Member State  

BE 

Delivery Period 

Ongoing 

Full reference  

Internet link 

Kraainem Football (2016) Jeunes réfugiés à Kraainem Football 
[Online] http://www.kraainemfootball.be/jeunes-refugies-a-
kraainem-football/ [Accessed 04/07/16] 

http://www.kraainemfootball.be/jeunes-refugies-a-kraainem-
football/ 
http://ec.europa.eu/avservices/photo/photoByReportage.cfm?ref=0
31139&sitelang=en 

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target group 

Project aims 

  Unaccompanied child refugees aged 14 to 18 predominantly are 
from Syria, Afghanistan and Eritrea who are waiting for their 
asylum application to be approved.  

Kraainem Football Club together with Centre de Réfugiés Fedasil de 
Woluwe Saint-Pierre are offering small groups courses in French 
combined with football training together with the youths from the 
club to foster language learning, forming of friendships, social 
integration as well as talent spotting. The young people are 
provided with a meal as well as football equipment (which is 
donated by club members). Each week around 20 young people 
take part which the refugee centre selects. The project is supported 
mostly by volunteers from the club. 

Key outcomes and 
success 
factors 
(where available)  

  Encourages children to learn through exercise and movement  
 
  Promotes integration through interaction with other young 

Improves basic language skills of children 

Type 
Intervention 

people 

of 

High level: Sport Plus 

Secondary: Education and Vocational Training / Personal and Social 
Development  

Cross-cultural bonding through exercise 

ID Number 

Organisation 
Name 

DE - 200 

Ostpreußen School 

Member State  

DE 

Delivery Period 

Ongoing 

Full reference  

Sportanddev.org (2016). Cross-cultural bonding through exercise. 
[online] Available at: http://www.sportanddev.org/?13926/1/Cross-

40 

 
 
 
 
 
 
cultural-bonding-through-exercise  [Accessed 5 May 2016].  

Internet link 

http://www.sportanddev.org/?13926/1/Cross-cultural-bonding-
through-exercise  

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target group 

Project aims 

  Refugees: Most of the refuges are aged 6 to 11 and are from 
Syria, Afghanistan and Morocco. 80% of transition class 
members are housed in a temporary accommodation. 

Ostpreußen School in Munich uses a cultural integration class to 
integrate child refugees and encourage them to exercise more. The 
school uses Muuvit, an internationally applied platform for health 
promotion and communication in the school setting. Muuvit 
encourages the children to engage in physical activity by rewarding 
each ten-minute stint with points which they can use to move 
forward on a virtual tour. It helps get children moving and make 
them curious about other cultures through their virtual journey of 
different cities around the world.  

Key outcomes and 
factors 
success 
(where available)  

  Encourages children to learn through exercise and movement  
 

Improves children’s understanding of different countries, and 
cultures  

Type 
Intervention 

  Promotes integration  

of 

High level: Plus Sport 

Secondary: Education and Vocational Training / Personal and Social 
Development /  

Integration through Sport 

ID Number 

DE – 202 

Organisation 
Name 

Federal Ministry of the Interior, the Federal Office for Migration and 
Refugees, German Olympic Sports Federation 

Member State  

DE 

Delivery Period 

Since 2001 to include migrants  

Full reference  

Sport Inclusion Network (2016). Inclusion of Migrants in and 
through Sports - A Guide to Good Practice. [online] 
http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf 
[Accessed 5 May 2016]. 

Internet link 

http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf  

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target group 

  Migrants: those with a migration background, including ethnic 

minorities 

Project aims 

The programme aims to sensitise and interest sport clubs at the 
grass-roots level for the requirements of inclusion and cross-
culturalism. The programmes work to promote the intercultural 
openness of the clubs. 

They advise and assist sport clubs, networks and projects locally in 
the development and implementation of sports-related inclusion 
concepts and provide financial support and furthermore activate, 

41 

 
 
 
 
 
Integration through Sport 

Key outcomes and 
success 
factors 
(where available)  

supervise and coordinate the many volunteers at the grass-roots 
level. They are involved in the creation and maintenance of 
networks and, in addition, are responsible for the development and 
implementation of training opportunities in the context of 
intercultural transparency, as well as public relations for each of 
the regions. 

  The sports club develops appropriate demand-oriented 

measures to implement the programme goals and directs them 
via e.g. easy access, target group oriented offers for the 
inclusion of target groups (outreach/follow-up programmes, 
reduced membership fees, etc.); regular club programmes of 
non-sporting activities (e.g. educational programmes, 
consultation); creation of participation possibilities for target 
groups, involvement in executive and decision-making 
positions, etc. 

  The sports club accepts the definition of inclusion and its aims 
and orients itself towards the target groups of the programme. 

  The sports club shows willingness to cooperate with the 

programme (participation in further training, intercultural 
openness, public relations work, and growth of competence). 

Type 
Intervention 

of 

High level: Sport Plus  

Secondary: Personal and Social Development / Volunteering in 
Sport /  

Inclusion through Qualification 

ID Number 

DE – 207 

Organisation 
Name 

Berlin Football Association and Federal Ministry for Migration and 
Refugees. 

Member State  

DE 

Delivery Period 

2007 – 2010 

Full reference  

Sport Inclusion Network (2016). Inclusion of Migrants in and 
through Sports - A Guide to Good Practice. [online] 
http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf 
[Accessed 5 May 2016].  

Internet link 

http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf  

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target group 

  Migrants: those with a migration background, including ethnic 

minorities 

  Women 

Project aims 

The first vocational and further education offer was aimed 
particularly at volunteers acting as club officials for migrant clubs 
who had, in the past, expressed uncertainty in dealing with 
bureaucratic structures, regulations, and cooperation with sports 
institutions.  

Training courses for football coaches and trainers which specifically 

42 

 
 
 
 
Inclusion through Qualification 

teach the safe handling of multicultural teams and their 
environment. 

Key outcomes and 
success 
factors 
(where available)  

None stated 

Type 
Intervention  

of 

High level: Sport Plus   

Secondary: Volunteering in Sport  

Türkiyemspor 

ID Number 

DE – 213 

Organisation 
Name 

Türkiyemspor 

Member State  

DE 

Delivery Period 

1978 -  

Full reference  

Internet link 

Sport Inclusion Network (2016). Inclusion of Migrants in and 
through Sports - A Guide to Good Practice. [online] 
http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf 
[Accessed 5 May 2016].  

http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf  
www.tuerkiyemspor.info  

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target group 

  Migrants: those with a migration background, including ethnic 

Project aims 

minorities 

Türkiyemspor is the most well known migrant club in Germany. By 
virtue of its sporting triumphs, it has become the figurehead of 
Berlin’s Turkish community and the multicultural district of 
Kreuzberg. Particularly in its period of sporting success, 
Türkiyemspor was not only a positive role model for Turkishborn 
immigrants as it also proved to migrant workers on the whole that 
they too can celebrate successes under the same conditions and 
not have to perish into the majority society.  

Türkiyemspor has, in this way, for many years supported “Respect 
Gaymes” which was initiated by the Berlin Lesbian and Gay Alliance 
and works to dismantle prejudices against gays and lesbians and to 
raise awareness of sexual diversity. The club also supports an 
annual day of action against violence against women. 

Key outcomes and 
factors 
success 
(where available)  

Non stated 

Type 
Intervention  

of 

High level: Sport Plus  

Secondary: Personal and Social Development  

43 

 
 
 
 
 
 
The “Sport with Muslim girls and young women” project 

ID Number 

Organisation 
Name 

Member State  

Delivery Period 

Full reference  

Internet link 

DE – 216 

Youth Sport Lower Saxony 

DE 

-  

Sport Inclusion Network (2016). Inclusion of Migrants in and 
through Sports - A Guide to Good Practice. [online] 
http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf 
[Accessed 5 May 2016].  

http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf 
http://www.praeventionstag.de/dokumentation/download.cms?id=1
38 
http://www.lsb-niedersachsen.de/live/lsb_nds/live.php  

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target group 

  Migrants: those with a migration background, including ethnic 

Project aims 

minorities 

  Women 

Contact with the target group of Muslim girls was made by 
searching out meeting places and facilities where the girls and 
young women congregated, e.g. schools, children and youth 
organisations, cultural associations, etc., but also mosques. The 
mosque is an important community oriented space in which the 
girls receive Quran lessons, sing, and celebrate together, thus the 
idea developed to initiate sport programmes within a mosque as it 
represents a living environment already possessing the trust of the 
parents. In such a way, a condition allowing the girls’ participation 
in sport programmes has been fulfilled.  

A cross-cultural project team was formed for the planning and 
monitoring of the project, consisting of representatives from the 
mosque, the advice centre for inclusion and migration issues and 
the sport club. Spaces were made available in the mosque for a 
regular sport programme, taking place in various groups after the 
Saturday Quran lessons. An average of 12 girls participated in each 
of the sport programmes.  

Initially, beside gymnastic warm-up exercises and self defence 
techniques, body awareness was placed in the foreground. Later, 
programmes in dance, fitness and strength training were added. 
The programmes were taught by various trainers with Turkish 
migration backgrounds. Alongside the cooperation partners and 
consultants the girls and young women themselves were involved 
in the planning of the movement courses, by means of surveys, for 
example. 

Key outcomes and 
success factors  

None stated 

Type 
Intervention 

of 

High level: Sport Plus 

44 

 
 
The “Sport with Muslim girls and young women” project 

(Delete 
appropriate)38 

as 

Secondary: Personal and Social Development  

Kicking Girls: Easy access to girls 

ID Number 

Organisation 
Name 

Member State  

Delivery Period 

Full reference  

DE – 218 

Kicking Girls 

DE 

-  

Sport Inclusion Network (2016). Inclusion of Migrants in and 
through Sports - A Guide to Good Practice. [online] 
http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf 
[Accessed 5 May 2016].  

Internet link 

http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf  

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target group 

  Women  
  Migrants: those with a migration background, including ethnic 

Project aims 

Key outcomes and 
success 
factors 
(where available)  

minorities 

Kicking Girls project exists in various schools in urban quarters with 
high proportions of migrant youth. The schools, in cooperation with 
nearby cooperation clubs, provide so-called girl’s working groups 
(Arbeitsgemeinschaften) in the school and the coaches are mostly 
female members of the club involved. The girls acquire the basics 
of football and develop an enjoyment of the game in a “protected 
environment”.  

In this way, through the girls’ football working groups, it is possible 
to reach, inspire and involve girls with a migrant background. In 
addition to expanding their profiles with the inclusion of girls’ 
football programmes, the schools also combine the hope of 
improving their extra-curricular range. With the cooperation with 
the school, the club aims to establish an attractive option for girls 
in order to attract new members and potential talent.  

  Many girls show an interest in the participation in the working 

groups. Girls can apply for becoming football coaching 
assistants who are then trained in the working groups in 
schools as well as in the clubs.  

  They can also get involved in the planning and organisation of 
school competitions and tournaments. In a second step, the 
girls take on the independent leadership of practice groups. 

Type 
Intervention  

of 

High level: Sport Plus 

Secondary: Personal and Social Development  

38 See below for definitions of the individual categories. 

45 

 
 
 
 
 
                                           
Discover Football  
ID Number 
Organisation 
Name 
Member State  
Delivery Period 
Full reference  

Internet link 

Evaluated? Y/N 

Target group 

Project aims 

DE – 219 
Discover Football 

DE 
2010 -  
Sport Inclusion Network (2016). Inclusion of Migrants in and 
through Sports - A Guide to Good Practice. [online] 
http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf 
[Accessed 5 May 2016].  
http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf 
http://www.discoverfootball.de/en/home/  
N 

  Women  
  Migrants: those with a migration background, including ethnic 

minorities 

Discover Football is a one-week international women’s football 
tournament incorporated into an cross-cultural encounter week for 
women, football and culture, which was held for the first time in 
Berlin in 2010.  

The aim is to promote intercultural understanding through 
international encounters in women’s football. The tournament also 
includes a special feature that distinguishes it from others: The so 
called MIX games run parallel to the classic group games. Here the 
teams are mixed, i.e. two equal groups are formed and then, for 
example half of the Brazilian team plays together with half of the 
Indian team against the other half of the Brazilian and Indian 
women. Thus, football becomes a bridge, bringing together players 
who do not know one another. Alongside the tournament, 
representatives from the areas of society, politics and sport 
discussed topics around football and women’s rights on the so-
called “pink podium.” 

Key outcomes and 
factors 
success 
(where available)  
Type 
of 
Intervention  

No stated  

High level: Sport Plus 

Secondary: Personal and Social Development  

Spin – Sport Interkulturell 

ID Number 

Organisation 
Name 

DE – 231 

Regional sport alliance of North Rhine Westphalia with support from 
the Federal Office for Migration and Refugees and the Ministry for 
Generations, Family, Women and Inclusion of the federal state of 
North Rhine Westphalia 

Member State  

DE 

Delivery Period 

2007 -  

46 

 
 
 
Spin – Sport Interkulturell 

Full reference  

Internet link 

Sport Inclusion Network (2016). Inclusion of Migrants in and 
through Sports - A Guide to Good Practice. [online] 
http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf 
[Accessed 5 May 2016].  

http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf 
http://spin.lsb.oc.kernpunkt.de  

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target group 

  Migrants: those with a migration background, including ethnic 

Project aims 

Key outcomes and 
success 
factors 
(where available)  

minorities 

The “spin – sport interkulturell” model project focuses on girls/ 
young women with an immigration background. The model project 
“spin” has been running since 2007 in selected towns in the Ruhr 
area of Duisburg, Essen, Gelsenkirchen, and Oberhausen and is set 
to run for 11 years.  

The goal is to support sport clubs as “institutions of borough 
related integration” and to enable a systematic encouragement of 
the process of inclusion, particularly of young girls and women 
from 10 to 18 years of age with a migrant background.  

This inclusion process will be applied on two levels: Firstly, it will 
attract young women to a club-based sporting event, in this way 
socially integrating them in the club community. Secondly, it is 
assumed that via the resultant transfer the target group will build 
competences and relationships, which will in turn enable them to 
interact with greater meaning, understanding and success in other 
contexts within the host society, e.g. in school, family and 
employment. 

  Aims to make the target group aware of club-oriented sport by 

means of easy access programmes. 

  Sport programmes are constructed in such a way as to remove 

existing access barriers into sport clubs. 
  The qualification possibilities for trainers. 

  The possibilities for involvement as citizens are designed to 

make the target group’s access to official status and voluntary 
involvement in the clubs easier. 

  Encouragement of linguistic abilities via informal and formal 

learning processes. 

Type 
Intervention  

of 

High level: Sport Plus Secondary: Personal and Social Development 
/ Volunteering in Sport 

SG Egelsbach – Mitternachtsfußball (Midnight Football) 

ID Number 

DE-102 

Name 

SG Egelsbach 

Member State 

DE 

Date 

November 2014 – ongoing 

47 

 
 
 
 
SG Egelsbach – Mitternachtsfußball (Midnight Football) 

Full reference  

Internet link 

http://www.sgegelsbach.de/fussball/cms.php?key=fu_ma_1516_ru  

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target Group 

Project aims 

Key  findings  and 
recommendations  

  Refugees: newly arrived migrants 

SG Egelsbach along with a local Christian refugee aid organisation 
founded a football team for refugees and local men interested in 
playing football in a multicultural society. The migrants are 15-50 
years old, showing another aspect of diversity. Training session are 
held inside the local sports hall at 22.00 – 23.00 and are called 
“Midnight Football.”  The main aim is to help refugees integrate into 
the local society. Many of the migrants have fled war torn countries 
such as Syria, Afghanistan and Somalia and are able to use football 
to help rebuild a sense of belonging in the local community as well 
as allowing them to express their feelings. 

Clubs are able to seek funding from the Deutscher Fussball-Blund 
(DFB) when integrating migrants into the club. SG Egelsbach 
received the one off €500 grant and was able to use this to support 
the migrants, buying indoor footwear. This breaks down barriers, or 
any supremacy aspects as all players have similar training 
equipment. 

The first training session tackled some of the language issues, by 
listing some key football terms in multiple languages. This helps 
refugees learn the local language as well as allowing players from 
different cultures to communicate effectively on the pitch. The club 
now has around 25 players attending training regularly and have 
played multiple matches and even won tournaments. 

The boys of SG Egelsbach participated in a tournament and wore 
shirts of the German national side, which were donated by a 
sponsor. This served to integrate the players into the national 
spirit, as well as making all the boys on the team equal. 

  Only 12 men registered interest in the training session, once the 
sessions started the number of participants quickly rose to 40-
50, highlighting how sport can integrate refugees into the local 
community. 

  The administrative procedures and the amount of red tape has 

been reduced to make it easier for players from different 
backgrounds to play football, helping with integration. 

  Refugees were given footwear which helped integrate them into 

the team and provided appropriate footwear for football. 
  The issue of multiple languages was overcome with basic 

language training related to football terminology. 

  The group acts as a small community for the players, mainly 

coming from Afghanistan, Somalia and Syria, two of the players 
are now coaching the team. 

  Some of the youths have now integrated into the first team, 
showing continued participation and integration into society. 

of 

High level: Sport Plus  

Type 
Intervention 

48 

 
 
 
 
 
 
SG Egelsbach – Mitternachtsfußball (Midnight Football) 

Secondary: Personal and Social Development / Education and 
Vocational Training  

H.O.P.E. 

ID Number 

Organisation 
Name 

DE-302 

RheinFlanke 

Member State  

DE 

Delivery Period 

Not available 

Full reference  

Internet link 

RheinFlanke gGmbH. (2016). Flüchtlingsarbeit. [online] Available at: 
http://www.rheinflanke.de/fluechtlingsarbeit/  [Accessed 5 May 
2016]. 

http://www.rheinflanke.de/fluechtlingsarbeit/ 
http://ec.europa.eu/sport/library/documents/streetworldfootball-
refugees_en.pdf  

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target group 

  Refugees and asylum seekers  

Project aims 

Key outcomes and 
success 
factors 
(where available)  

RheinFlanke is an NGO that is active in a number of cities in 
Germany, but mainly carries out the H.O.P.E. project in Cologne, 
Düsseldorf and Bonn. Its general objective is to support the 
personal development of young people and ensuring that they 
become active members of society. They mainly aim to link 
educational opportunities to street football. They have two projects 
that are specifically aimed at refugees, H.O.P.E and BUS. 

H.O.P.E offers football courses in emergency accommodation 
centres for refugees and asylum seekers. They aim to build trust 
between the participants and the staff in order to provide 
individualised support in terms of everyday life, health care needs, 
visits to authorities, language courses and general education 
schemes. The project thus not only offers sports activities, but also 
supports cultural integration by offering activities related to art, 
music and dance. They also aim to support the integration of 
refugees, allowing them to live an independent life, integrated in 
German society. They thus ultimately use sport as a means to 
establish and build a relationship with the refugees, then 
subsequently support their integration into German society by 
supporting social and cultural integration as well as offering further 
education and training opportunities such as internships and work 
placement.  

  The first participants of the project have already received 
training and support with entry into the labour market.  

  The project provides individualised support for participants, and 
addresses their most urgent needs, for instance, by assisting 
them with visits to the doctor or the authorities, as well as 
supporting language development and access to the labour 
market.  

  Through the H.O.P.E project, a football team was furthermore 
established consisting of refugees, native German players and 
players with a migration background. This team plays in the 

49 

 
 
 
 
H.O.P.E. 

Type 
Intervention 

Der BUS 

ID Number 

Organisation 
Name 

lowest German football league. 

of 

High level: Plus Sport 

Secondary:  Education  and  Vocational  Training,  Employability 
Support, Personal and Social Development  

DE-303 

RheinFlanke 

Member State  

DE 

Delivery Period 

Not available 

Full reference  

Internet link 

RheinFlanke gGmbH. (2016). Flüchtlingsarbeit. [online] Available at: 
http://www.rheinflanke.de/fluechtlingsarbeit/  [Accessed 5 May 
2016]. 

http://www.rheinflanke.de/fluechtlingsarbeit/ 
http://ec.europa.eu/sport/library/documents/streetworldfootball-
refugees_en.pdf 

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target group 

  Refugees and asylum seekers  

Project aims 

RheinFlanke is an NGO that is mainly active in Cologne, Düsseldorf 
and Bonn. Its general objective is to support the personal 
development of young people and ensuring that they become 
active members of society. They mainly aim to link educational 
opportunities to street football. They have two projects that are 
specifically aimed at refugees, H.O.P.E and BUS. 

The BUS project is consists of trained staff that travels across 
Cologne in a large converted bus with a wide range of sports 
equipment. They travel to different locations where refugees are in 
emergency accommodation to offer a distraction from their daily 
lives and their past traumatic experiences through a range of 
leisure activities. They provide a range of sports activities as well 
as offering initial language training in a playful manner.  

The BUS also offers a consultation room, where individuals can 
receive individualised support to discuss problems or to actively 
plan their integration process (for instance, through participation in 
other projects such as H.O.P.E. or the “Work for You” programme).   

Lastly, the project aims to involve local youth centres, churches 
and sports clubs in their activities. In addition, an increased 
connection and activation of local structures such as youth centres, 
churches and sports clubs, aimed at. With about 350 participants 
per week the project BUS has also become a model for the refugee 
work in other parts of Germany 

Key outcomes and 
success 
factors 
(where available)  

  There are approximately 350 participants per week.  
 

It has become a model for refugee work throughout Germany, 
as mobile nature of the support allows many refugees to be 

50 

 
 
 
 
Der BUS 

supported at various locations within the city.  

  RheinFlanke is a Street Football World European Network 

member working with refugees. 

Type 
Intervention 

of 

High level: Sport Plus 

Secondary: Personal and Social Development  

More Female Migrants in Sport 

ID Number 

DE - 503 

Organisation 
Name 

German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) 

Member State  

DE 

Delivery Period 

2008-2011 

Full reference  

ENGSO (2012) Creating a Level Playing Field: Social inclusion of 
migrants and ethnic minorities in Sport, ENGSO – European Non-
Governmental Sports Organisation 
Zschippang, V. (2010) German Olympic Sports Confederation 
(DOSB); “Physical Activity and Health – More Female Immigrants to 
Exercise and Play Sports”, 13th ENGSO Forum Social Inclusion and 
Education Through Sport, Dubovnik, Croatia, 8-9 October 2010 

Internet link 

http://www.integration-durch-sport.de/de/integration-durch-sport/  

Evaluated? Y/N 

Yes  

Target group 

Project aims 

Migrant and ethnic minority girls and women from all over 
Germany. 

The German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) is the 
independent umbrella organization of all sports associations in 
Germany and represents over 92.000 sport clubs and more than 
27.5 million members. Since 1989 DOSB supported a programme 
focusing on integration through sport. An evaluation of the 
programme completed in 2009 found that migrant girls and women 
were under-represented. The More Female Migrants in Sport 
programme was therefore created with the aim of involving and 
integrating more female migrants into sport clubs. 

The programme aims to provide better access for women to 
become physically active and join sport clubs. A key feature of the 
programme’s approach is networking with different local partners 
and public authorities.  Additional, non-sport components are 
offered alongside the sport activities with the aim of promoting 
social and professional competences, for example: swimming for 
young girls is combined with homework tutoring; gymnastics for 
elderly female immigrants is linked to a computer course to learn 
how to use the internet; etc. 

A related objective is to build sustainable cooperation between the 
participants and public authorities.  

Key outcomes and  A conference paper concludes that the various combined offers 

51 

 
 
 
 
More Female Migrants in Sport 

factors 
success 
(where available)  

reached female immigrants and supported them in developing self-
empowerment, which has lead to more participation and social 
inclusion.39 The paper also concludes that the programme had led 
to an increase of sport projects for female migrants, in various 
cities in Germany. 

ENGSO (2012) identify a number of key elements of the 
programme:  

  Clear vision and objectives: Sport is seen as a first step to 

stimulate interest for additional programmes. In the objectives 
of the programme, the physical, social and psychological 
aspects of health are all considered. 

  Recruitment and reaching: The target group are reached 

through partnerships and relevant organisations that already 
work with female migrants. 

  The project also supports on key female monitors that are 

respected and trustful contact persons taking on the role of 
‘door opener’ for migrant women looking for inexpensive, close-
to-home sport facilities in a ‘secure’ environment (no male 
participant, monitors, observers, etc.). 

  Collaboration: A strong multi-level network with strong 

partnerships (e.g., sport federations, local authorities, sport 
clubs, schools) and relatively large funding are the strengths of 
this project. Each state sport federation had to work together 
with at least three sport clubs and implement nine offers (sport 
+ x). 

  Specialist evaluation: The evaluation of the programme was 
completed by the Institute for Social Infrastructure (ISIS).  

Type 
Intervention 

of 

High level: Plus Sport 

Secondary: Personal and Social Development  

Willkommen im Fußball (Welcome to Football) 
DE - 506 
ID Number 
Bundesliga Foundation 
Organisation 
Name 
Member State 
Date 
Full reference  

im 

Fussball. 

DE 
March 2015 - ongoing 
Bundesliga  Stifting  (2015)  Leuchtturmprojekt  –  Integration  – 
[Online]  https://www.bundesliga-
Willkommen 
stiftung.de/projekte/integration/leuchtturmprojekt-willkommen-im-
fussball. [Accessed: 03 August 2016]. 
https://www.bundesliga-
stiftung.de/projekte/integration/leuchtturmprojekt-willkommen-im-
fussball  
N 
Young refugees up to the age of 27. 

Internet link 

Evaluated?  
Target group 

39 Zschippang, V. (2010) German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB); “Physical Activity and Health – More 
Female  Immigrants  to  Exercise  and  Play  Sports”, 13th  ENGSO Forum  Social  Inclusion  and  Education  Through 
Sport, Dubovnik, Croatia, 8-9 October 2010 

52 

 
 
 
 
                                           
Willkommen im Fußball (Welcome to Football) 
Project aims 

Professional football clubs build alliances with local amateur clubs 
and a variety of social and educational services. In these alliances, 
migrants are offered to join amateur football clubs in open football 
trainings. They can train and play with locals in their new 
neighbourhood/community. 

Professional football clubs provide general assistance to the 
amateur clubs. Additionally, they organise event days, stadium 
visits and match day tickets. They also offer supplies and help to 
raise awareness for the project in their community and the issues 
of newly arrived migrants in general. 

Social and educational services (all clerical, public and private) 
provide education, language classes and other integrative 
measures, such as excursions, tours, and family/fans activities. The 
emotional and physical wellbeing of migrants is actively supported 
through athletic activities; migrants spend their time in a real life 
social network and enjoy recreational activities instead of not 
having any preoccupation at all. Ultimately, all these factors result 
in a higher and more integrative commitment of migrants to their 
local community. 

The project was initiated by Bundesliga Foundation together with 
the Federal Government of Germany. These two initial partners 
were joined by German Children and Youth Foundation (DKJS). 
Today, together all three partners organise, support and finance 
the project. 
  Professional football clubs display their social responsibilities 

with their integration efforts.  

  They raise awareness and acceptance on refugees’ situation in 
public opinion - mostly by taking advantage of their significant 
role model function. 

  Migrants enjoy easy access to sports in local amateur clubs, in 

Germany this applies especially to popular football. The 
facilitated access lowers the threshold into society and 
communal life. Encounters between locals and newly arrived 
migrants are made possible in sports, an area with norms and 
values focused on co-operation and teamplay. 

Key outcomes and 
success factors  

Type of 
Intervention 

High level: Sport Plus 

Secondary: Personal and Social Development, Education 

SMS Solidario/ Professional football with refugees 

ID Number 

Organisation 
Name 

ES-107 

LaLiga and UNICEF 

Member State  

ES 

Delivery Period 

September 2015 – ongoing 

Full reference 

LaLiga (2015) Spanish Professional Football to support refugees. 
[Online] http://www.laliga.es/en/news/spanish-professional-

53 

 
 
 
SMS Solidario/ Professional football with refugees 

Internet link 

http://www.laliga.es/fundacion/actividades/sociales/nacional  

football-to-support-refugees [Accessed 2 August 2016] 

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target group 

  The campaign targeted current refugees. 

Project aims 

Key outcomes and 
factors 
success 
(where available)  

LaLiga, through its Foundation, and the UNICEF Spanish 
Committee, in collaboration with The Spanish Footballers' 
Association and The National Sport Council, launched a joint 
campaign during the match days 4 and 5 of Liga BBVA and Liga 
Adelante, respectively, to help refugee children and families fleeing 
from the armed conflicts in their origin countries. 

The initiative was supported by the 42 Clubs/ SAD of LaLiga and 
took place mainly during the days 18th, 19th and 20th September 
2015. On match day an minute of silence was held to raise 
awareness of the campaign and players supported the message 
"Professional football to SUPPORT REFUGEES / SEND TO UNICEF 
38080." La Liga also used t-shirts, videos, large canvases with 
slogans to promote the campaign. A total of EUR 46 390 was 
raised. 

  The campaign generated funding for UNICEF through an 

alternative channel.. 

  The huge media presence in La Liga will ensure that awareness 

 

is raised regarding to the migrant issue. 
It will raise awareness of the difficulties refugees suffer and will 
lead to a sympathetic view, rather than hostile. 

Type 
Intervention 

of 

High level: Plus Sport 

Secondary: Personal and Social Development  

Tant se val d’on venim (It doesn’t matter where we come from) 

ID Number 

ES-109 

Name 

Barcelona FC (Social Area) and the Red Cross 

Member State 

ES 

Date 

20 September 2015 – January 2016 

Full reference 

Internet link 

http://www.fcbarcelona.com/detail/card/campaign  

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target group 

  Recently arrived refugees and asylum seekers in Spain, with a 

specific focus on Catalonia. 

Tant se val d’on venim is a line from the first verse of the 
Barcelona anthem, using such well renowned phrase could 
reinforce a positive stereotype for the migrants as they are related 
to their anthem. 

The campaigns three objectives are, fundraising, social awareness 
and integration of those affected by the migrant crisis. Barcelona 
seeks to do this by using its high media presence to encourage all 
stakeholders, including anybody with an interest in the club to 

Project aims 

54 

 
 
 
 
 
Tant se val d’on venim (It doesn’t matter where we come from) 

make donations which will be forwarded to the Red Cross. To gain 
additional funds, the club is; auctioning Barcelona merchandise. 
They also have the support of large sponsors, such as Qatar 
Airways. Donation pointes have also been set up around the 
stadium, museum and shop, as well as a website for donations. 

To integrate the refugees and asylum seekers Barcelona is 
collaborating with the Confederation of Supporters Club, organising 
activities to facilitate the integration of refugees into the 
communities. 

To raise awareness the club has involved its high profile football 
stars to highlight the importance of integrating migrants. The Club 
has developed a photo campaign including and a microsite on the 
website. The messages will also be distributed through the Clubs 
social network sites and the video scoreboards at the Nou Camp. 

  Using Barcelona to increase funds, social awareness and 

integration of migrants will be more effective than without the 
use of football, as it is a relatable topic. 

  To measure the effectiveness of the funds, it would be 

necessary to measure the Red Crosses impact. The Red Cross 
cater to the newly arrived refugees by providing basic services, 
including those in Catalonia. 

Key  findings  and 
recommendations  

Type 
Intervention 

of 

High level: Plus Sport 

Secondary: Personal and Social Development 

Interocio por la Diversidad 

ID Number 

ES-110 

Name 

Mancomunidad El Záncara 

Member State 

ES 

Date 

2005 – ongoing  

Full reference 

Internet link 

http://international.nisb.nl/scrivo/asset.php?id=998623  

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target Group 

  The programme targets migrant youths aged between 5-19 

years old with a focus on women  

Project aims 

The programme was funded by the National Ministry and regional 
governments of Cuenca, targeting migrants and members of the 
Spanish community who are socially disadvantaged. The objectives 
of the project it to facilitate social inclusion of the migrants through 
different activities, including; sport, Spanish courses, cultural 
workshops and other activities. This wide range of activities allows 
the migrants to integrate into the local community and prevent 
possible exclusion from locals, allowing for peaceful coexistence.  

To increase participation and improve integration migrants were 
advised to invite friends and schoolmates, further helping to 
remove differences between immigrants and locals. This group of 

55 

 
 
 
 
Interocio por la Diversidad 

Key  findings  and 
recommendations  

participants are then able to form close friendships through the 
programme and sport and various other activities.  

  The programme improved social development for over 430 

migrants involved. It also educated them on different cultures, 
integrating them into the local community. 

  The programme is ongoing and participation keeps increasing. 
  The programme allows members to generate new friends 
removing differences between the immigrants and locals. 
  The programme encouraged participants to promote their local 

culture through traditional games, meals and more. 

  There were some small barriers due to beliefs and language. 
  A lack of facilities made it difficult to cater for large numbers. 
  The success was due to the willingness to improve social 

inclusion and the facilitators ability to provide entertaining 
integrating activities for anyone interested in participating. 

Type 
Intervention 

of 

High level: Plus Sport 

Secondary: Personal and Social Development 

RED DEPORTE Y COOPERACIÓN 

ID Number 

Organisation 
Name 

ES-301 

Red Deporte y Cooperación 

Member State  

ES (and internationally) 

Delivery Period 

The organisation was founded in 1999 

Full reference  

Internet link 

Evaluated? Y/N 

Target group 

Project aims 

56 

redeporte.org. (2016). Educación, salud e integración a través del 
deporte.. [online] Available at: 
http://redeporte.org/eng/index_eng.php  [Accessed 5 May 2016]. 

http://redeporte.org/eng/index_eng.php 
http://ec.europa.eu/sport/library/documents/streetworldfootball-
refugees_en.pdf 

N 

 
 

In Spain: migrants, particularly young migrants.  
Internationally: disadvantaged young people 

Red Deporte y Cooperación (Sport and Cooperation Network) is an 
NGO that is based both in Spain and in the United States. It aims to 
empower and educate young people and bring together 
communities using the power of sport. It works mainly in Africa, 
South America and the Caribbean, but also operates in Spain and to 
a lesser extent in Eastern Europe.  

Internationally it operates through broad educational programmes 
and by investing in sports facilities. They focus on the development 
of leadership skills, gender equality, psychomotor development, 
academic development, HIV/AIDS prevention, hygiene, alcohol and 
drugs prevention and portable water stewardship.  

In Spain, the organisation offers sports events for migrants, young 
men and women, children and the minority communities of Madrid. 
They use football as a means of promoting activity among young 

 
 
 
RED DEPORTE Y COOPERACIÓN 

Key outcomes and 
success factors  

people as well the social cohesion within the community. They also 
work directly with Spanish children through awareness-raising 
activities in schools, and outreach events in the community. Lastly, 
they offer legal assistance for adults.  

  Supporting migrants and refugees by keeping them active, and 
enhancing their daily lives through the promotion of social 
cohesion in the community.  

  The active engagement of young people 
 

Internationally, the NGO has supported thousands of children 
across numerous continents 

Type of 
Intervention 

High level: Sport Plus  

Secondary: Personal and Social Development 

LaLigaNonStop 
ID Number 
Organisation 
Name 
Member State 
Date 
Full reference  

Internet link 

Evaluated? Y/N 
Target Group 

ES - 505 
Professional Football Foundation/ LaLiga 

ES 
30-31/12/2015 
LaLiga (2016) The LaLiga Foundation presents charity funds raised 
through LaLigaNonStop. [Online] http://www.laliga.es/en/news/ 
the-laliga-foundation-presents-charity-funds-raised-through-
laliganonstop [Accessed 2 August 2016]. 
http://www.laliga.es/en/news/the-laliga-foundation-presents-
charity-funds-raised-through-laliganonstop 

No 
 

 

In Spain: migrants, particularly young migrants, disadvantaged 
young people.  
Internationally: disadvantaged young people. 

Project aims 

The Professional Football Foundation presented the funds raised for 
charity during Matchday 17, LaLigaNonStop, of the Liga BBVA on 
30th and 31st December 2015. 

LaLiga took the opportunity to consolidate its association with 
UNICEF, making a donation to support the humanitarian work 
being carried out by the organisation with refugee children.  

In addition, the Foundation presented six other cheques to a 
number of social projects that make huge efforts on a daily basis to 
help those children in the greatest need in Spain and internationally 
through the involvement of sport. 
  Raised Funds to support refugee crisis: 87.000€ 
  A communication campaign to raise awareness about the 

refugee crisis. 

High level: Sport Plus  

Secondary: Personal and Social Development 

57 

Key outcomes 
and success 
factors  

Type of 
Intervention 

 
 
 
 
International supporters group with African drumming 

ID Number 

Organisation 
Name 

FI – 204 

Helsinki Diplomats Sports (HDS) 

Member State  

FI 

Delivery Period 

2009 -  

Full reference  

Sport Inclusion Network (2016). Inclusion of Migrants in and 
through Sports - A Guide to Good Practice. [online] 
http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf 
[Accessed 5 May 2016]. 

Internet link 

http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf  

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target group 

  Migrants: those with a migration background, including ethnic 

minorities 

Project aims 

Key outcomes and 
success 
factors 
(where available)  

Helsinki Diplomats Sports (HDS) has initiated an international 
supporters group with African drumming. The group was used in 
highprofile games, as in the Helsinki Diplomats Sports club cup 
game against HJK Helsinki or in the Atlantis FC Division 1st league 
games. Following this, HDS has received positive media coverage 
and has been discussed in many supporters blogs and thus 
hopefully inspired others to be creative in their supporters work. 
This was done as an answer to the offer of the racist group ´White 
Pride Finland´ to the rather new and young FC Honka supporter 
group to be their official guards and protectors.  

  The initiative had also cooperated with the supporter-club of FC 

Honka (“Hongankolistajat”), as a result they combined 
traditional and Afro-Supporter chanting during the FC Honkas 
Ladies cup final game. They were able to add a positive 
intercultural atmosphere to the game, support their team to a 
win and also were awarded with the ´Virtual Global Family 
award´.  

  A two-page article about tolerance and social inclusion in the 
club’s magazine and the inclusion of values like tolerance and 
openness into the club’s ethical rules. 

Type 
Intervention 

of 

High level: Sport Plus  

Secondary: Personal and Social Development 

FI – 230 
Liikkukaa 

Benefiting of Sports for Social Inclusion (BOSSI) 
ID Number 
Organisation 
Name 
Member State  
Delivery Period 
Full reference  

FI 
2005 -  
Sport Inclusion Network (2016). Inclusion of Migrants in and 
through Sports - A Guide to Good Practice. [online] 
http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei

58 

 
 
 
 
 
Benefiting of Sports for Social Inclusion (BOSSI) 

Internet link 

Evaluated? Y/N 

a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf 
[Accessed 5 May 2016].  
http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf 
http://www.liikkukaa.org/index.php?id=44 
N 

Target group 

  Migrants: those with a migration background, including ethnic 

Project aims 

Key outcomes and 
success 
factors 
(where available)  
of 
Type 
Intervention  

minorities 

Liikkukaa started the BOSSI programme in 2005 by starting to 
collect and distributing information about migration and sports in 
Finland. Later BOSSI became a project funded by the European 
Refugee Fund. For several years now BOSSI has been funded by 
the Ministry of Education and Culture. 

The aim of the programme is to increase knowledge of both the 
challenges of multicultural sport and the benefits of sports in 
integrating migrants. The programme has three parallel target 
groups, namely (municipal) administration sport clubs, federations, 
migrants and their own sport clubs. With each target group BOSSI 
lessons aim to take a look at multicultural sports from their 
particular viewpoint introducing good practices, relevant 
background information and the basic legislative framework. 

BOSSI is meant to support both professionals and volunteers 
working in the field of multicultural sport. 
None stated 

High level: Sport Plus 

Secondary: Personal and Social Development / Volunteering in 
Sport 

59 

 
 
 
 
 
Peer Instructor Training for Immigrant Women 

ID Number 

Organisation 
Name 

FI – 502 

Kisakeskus Sport Institute 

Member State  

FI 

Delivery Period 

Not clear from information available 

Full reference  

ENGSO (2012) Creating a Level Playing Field: Social inclusion of 
migrants and ethnic minorities in Sport, ENGSO – European Non-
Governmental Sports Organisation 

Internet link 

http://kisakeskus.fi/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Monikulttuuri-
ohjaaja-esite.pdf  

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target group 

Project aims 

Key outcomes and 
factors 
success 
(where available)  

The project targets migrant and ethnic minority women (e.g. 
Somali, Iraqi, Kurdish, Russian, Afghan) from the Helsinki region 

The aim of education activities was to raise awareness of the 
importance of a physically active lifestyle for overall health and to 
enable educated women ‘peers’ to support a physically active 
lifestyle in their families and communities. In between the 
education courses, the women did homework related to health 
enhancing physical activity and instructing skills. A supplementary 
aim was to get the women to engage with other people to avoid 
exclusion and loneliness. 

ENGSO (2012) identify a number of key elements of the 
programme:  

  Recruitment and reaching: Educated peer instructors could 

support and encourage a physically active lifestyle among their 
families and communities, which also facilitated recruitment.  

  Offering female friendly sports: such as basic exercises, 

stretching, circle training, muscle strength training with (light) 
weight, (Nordic) walking, gym in the forest and skiing. 

  Communication/evaluation: Customer orientation by using their 
potential and experiences to lead the learning process. After 
every education course, (oral) feedback discussions were held 
with participants and teachers. 

Type 
Intervention 

of 

High level: Sport Plus 

Secondary: Personal and Social Development / Volunteering in 
Sport 

Sportis Plus 

ID Number 

Organisation 
Name 

FI - 505 

Cosmos Juniors 

Member State  

FI 

Delivery Period 

Not clear from information available 

Full reference  

ENGSO (2012) Creating a Level Playing Field: Social inclusion of 
migrants and ethnic minorities in Sport, ENGSO – European Non-

60 

 
 
 
 
 
Sportis Plus 

Internet link 

https://www.facebook.com/CosmosJuniors/  

Governmental Sports Organisation 

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target group 

Project aims 

Key outcomes and 
success 
factors 
(where available)  

Migrants aged 8 to 29 years old from a variety of backgrounds 
(e.g. Somali, Iraqi, Finnish, Vietnamese and Kosovan) 

The project provides immigrants with opportunities to participate in 
a variety of sports according to their own wishes. Sports on offer 
include football, basketball, volleyball, floor ball and a large variety 
of new sports such as ‘Sepak Takraw’ (kick volleyball) from South 
Asia.  

The ´plus’ part of the offer provides complementary activities that 
are adding value to the sports activities. The programme organises 
camps, creative workshops, seminars and events (e.g. alcohol, 
drugs, mobbing, and violence). The programme is constantly 
developing a network in order to include the participants with 
higher skills and ambition into mainstream society and/or clubs.  

The programme also aims to change the attitude of mainstream 
clubs by inviting them to the events in order for them to open up to 
people of different origins. 

The programme initially ran for three years, engaging 1,500 
children.  

There is limited evaluation evidence available; however ENGSO 
(2012) identify a number of key elements of the programme:  

  Communication and awareness: Gender issues are dealt with 
carefully since there are also special groups for girls and 
women; it is also important to focus on changing the attitude of 
mainstream ‘majority’ clubs towards ethnic diversity 

  Recruitment and reaching: Initiated by migrants from socially 
challenging neighbourhoods in order to activate and empower 
migrants in and through sport; also less common sports are 
offered, such as Sepak Takraw. Furthermore, participants with 
higher skills and ambition are guided to the mainstream 
through the programme network. The programme also tries to 
change the attitude of mainstream clubs, by inviting them to 
the events in order for them to open up for people of different 
origin. 

  Collaboration: Strong network between Mondial Stars, HDS, 

Espoo Youth Centre, Atlantis FC, Espoo City Sports Department 
to ensure a ‘sport plus’ approach. 

Type 
Intervention 

of 

High level: Plus Sport 

Secondary: Personal and Social Development 

61 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Sport Dans la Ville 

ID Number 

Organisation 
Name 

FR-304 

Sport dans la ville 

Member State  

FR 

Delivery Period 

Founded in 1998 

Full reference  

Internet link 

Sport dans la Ville. (2016). Sport dans la Ville - Association 
d'insertion par le sport. [online] Available at: 
http://www.sportdanslaville.com/  [Accessed 5 May 2016]. 

http://www.sportdanslaville.com/ 
http://ec.europa.eu/sport/library/documents/streetworldfootball-
refugees_en.pdf 

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target group 

  Underprivileged children (between 7 and 20) many of whom 

have a migration background 

Project aims 

Sport Dans la Ville (Sport in the City) is an organisation that 
operates in Lyon, Paris, Grenoble and Saint Etienne and is one of 
the leading organisations in the field of integration through sport.  
The organisation aims to engage disadvantaged young people 
through a range of activities. There are a range of projects: 

- “L in the City” supports 790 girls in terms of personal 
development and employability through sports activities, cultural 
outings and business meetings;  
- “Apprenti’Bus” is a project in which children (aged 7-11) 
participate in workshops related to reading, writing and speaking. 
The activities are carried out on “Bus to Sport” which is completely 
furnished and equipped with a training room. There are 13 weekly 
appointments.  
- “Sport” in which free sports programmes are offered where young 
people can play football, basketball, rugby, tennis and dance.   
- “Discovery” is a project where young people are encouraged to 
leave their ‘comfort zones’ and participate in a range of different 
social and cultural activities.  
- “Job in the City” in which young people aged 14 or older are 
supported in finding training or employment opportunities 
- “Entrepreneurship in the City”  where young entrepreneurs 
receive 160 hours of training and 40 hours of workshops at a 
Business School.   

Key outcomes and 
success 
factors 
(where available)  

  The organisation runs 31 sports centres, at which approximately 

4500 young people are registered 

  There has been an increase of 17% in the number of enrolments 

since 2015 

  200 children have participated in the “Apprenti’Bus” programme 
  750 have registered for the “Job in the City” programme in 2016 

alone  

  82% of the young people in the programme find training or 

employment 

  Under the “Entrepreneurship in the City” project, 100 companies 

have been created since 2007. 150 jobs have been created and 
170 projects aided.  

62 

 
 
 
 
Sport Dans la Ville 

  Young people have been supported in terms of gaining self-
confidence and values essential to future success, including 
respect, commitment, openness, perseverance, and work 
experience. 

Type 
Intervention 

of 

High level: Plus Sport 

Secondary: Employability Support, Personal and Social 
Development  

Croatia Centre for Peace Studies (CPS) 

ID Number 

HR-108 

Name 

Centar za Mirovne Studije (CMS) 

Member State 

HR 

Date 

2013 – 2014 

Full reference 

Internet link 

http://www.cms.hr/en/o-cms-u-tko-je-tko/cms  

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target Group 

Project aims 

Key findings and 
recommendations  

  Refugees: newly arrived migrants 

In Croatia refugees are sometimes viewed as a burden on society 
and a danger, as a consequence of these attitudes minorities, 
migrants and refugees often suffer discrimination on a daily basis. 
It is therefore important to raise awareness and educate the public 
about refugees and asylum seekers to ensure that any future 
attempt at integration is not met with hostility. 

The Centre for Peace Studies (CPS) is a non-profit, non-
governmental organisation promoting social change through 
education, research and activism in Croatia. The organisation has 
three main areas on which it focuses, including combatting 
xenophobia.   

CPS runs various projects to integrate migrants, some which use 
sport as a focus point. They ran an awareness raising campaign 
with football fans of a Zagreb club (Bijeli anđeli or the White 
angels) against xenophobia and racism. The campaign raised the 
issue of discrimination against minorities with different skin 
colours, especially refugees. This campaign started just before the 
2014 Football World Cup in Brazil along with the FARE campaign 
“All colours are beautiful”, this enabled CPS to use the major 
sporting event as a platform to publicise the awareness raising 
campaign.  

  Using a major sporting event enabled the awareness raising 

campaign to maximise its impact. 

  The national sport in Croatia is football, promoting the 

 

integration of migrants through a relatable topic increases the 
audience. 
Increasing awareness of the refugee situation will hopefully 
make the public more sympathetic to the cause, however it 
could potentially have the opposite effect if done wrong. 

63 

 
 
 
 
 
Croatia Centre for Peace Studies (CPS) 

 

It is difficult to analyse the success of awareness raising 
campaigns unless key performance indicators are identified.  

Type of 
Intervention 

High level: Plus Sport 

Secondary: Personal and Social Development 

The African Stars Football Team  

ID Number 

Organisation 
Name 

HU – 208 

Mahatma Gandhi Human Rights Organization. 

Member State  

HU 

Delivery Period 

1994 - 

Full reference  

Sport Inclusion Network (2016). Inclusion of Migrants in and 
through Sports - A Guide to Good Practice. [online] 
http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf 
[Accessed 5 May 2016].  

Internet link 

http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf  

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target group 

  Refugees: newly arrived migrants 
  Migrants: those with a migration background, including ethnic 

Project aims 

Key outcomes and 
factors 
success 
(where available)  

minorities 

The African Stars Football Team is composed of ex-refugees and 
migrants, who succeeded in getting a residence authorisation 
sharing their positive experiences with those who might have not 
yet succeeded to integrate in Hungary. Refugees and migrants of 
colour commonly face discrimination and xenophobic hostility in 
Eastern-Europe. It offers contracts to refugees and tries to get to 
the higher league, demonstrating the abilities of the players and 
taking itself seriously, which is to say not as a part-time or a mere 
hobby team. The matches create a unique melting pot of old and 
new, African and Asian, migrant and refugee.  

  The matches played an important role in destroying the barrier 
between what would otherwise have been opposing cultures 
and given the opportunity for all to participate in football 
matches regardless of colour or background. 

  Allowed African migrant players to participate in the most 

popular sport in Hungary giving the opportunity to increase 
awareness in the Hungarian society about migrants and 
refugees, helping the participants to gain acceptance through 
the sport. 

  Refugees are registered as players as a result of their 

involvement in the team and asylum seekers have got visas 
with less difficulty because of their participation in the team. 

Type 
Intervention  

of 

High level: Sport Plus   

Secondary: Personal and Social Development 

64 

 
 
 
 
Oltalom Sport Association (OSA) 

ID Number 

Organisation 
Name 

HU-300 

Oltatom Sport Association (OSA) 

Member State  

HU 

Delivery Period 

OSA was founded in 2005, and is still operational.  

Full reference  

Internet link 

Oltalom.hu. (2016). Oltalom.hu. [online] Available at: 
http://oltalom.hu/rovat.php?id=112&lang=en&mid=999  [Accessed 
5 May 2016]. 

http://www.streetfootballworld.org/network-member/oltalom-sport-
association 
http://oltalom.hu/rovat.php?id=112&lang=en&mid=999 

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target group 

Project aims 

Key outcomes and 
factors 
success 
(where available)  

Socially disadvantaged and homeless people. They also have 
special programmes for refugees.   

The Oltatom Sport Association (OSA) supports the participation of 
disadvantaged youth, homeless people, refugees and minorities in 
sports and social activities. OSA provides regular football training 
sessions for these groups and aims to not only improve the health 
of participants but also to promote tolerance, understanding and 
reduce racism and crime in certain dangerous districts in Budapest.  

The organisation additionally provides information to participants 
on the services offered by partner organisations, mainly in the 
fields of healthcare, housing, financial and legal aid and access to 
employment. They also provide food, water and medicine to the 
refugee children involved in the programme.  

The OSA collaborates with international organisations such as FIFA 
and Football for Hope, and is part of the Street Football World 
network. OSA football teams frequently participate in international 
tournaments. The OSA has been responsible for the organisation of 
the Hungarian delegation for the Homeless World Cup for several 
years. Since 2012 they have organised a Fair Play Football Road 
Show and Tournament with a number of different cups at various 
locations. Representatives from the local government, police, fire 
fighters, schools and minority governments are invited to the 
events.  

Outline in bullet points  

  Reduction of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms 
  Creates events where participants with different backgrounds 

come together. 

  Supports the social integration and well-being of refugees in 

Hungary, as well as promoting tolerance among the community.  

  Success story: one of the refugees of the project participated in 
the Hungarian team at the Homeless World Cup in South Africa. 
He subsequently became an OSA  coach for several years, 
gained Hungarian citizenship and started a family with a 
Hungarian wife.   

65 

 
 
 
Oltalom Sport Association (OSA) 

Type 
Intervention 

of 

High level: Plus Sport  

Secondary: Personal and Social Development, volunteering in sport 

BeFitIn – Integration through sport in Hungary 
ID Number 
Organisation 
Name 

HU-400 
Suisse Academy for Development (SAD, Szubjektiv Értékek 
Alapítváni,  
Utopia Civil Association 
HU 
September 2013 – October 2014 (13 months) 
SAD (2014) Integration through sport in Hungary, SAD: Biel 
[Online: http://www.sad.ch/en/projects/completed/268-integration-
through-sport-hungary , Accessed: 25/04/2016] 
http://befitin.hu // http://www.sad.ch/en/projects/completed/268-
integration-through-sport-hungary  
N 
Hungary’s migration and integration policy is extremely defensive. 
At the same time, the country is struggling with a continual 
decrease in population, an aging population and economic 
stagnation. Legal immigration and effective integration measures 
could reverse these trends. This is why SAD, and local partners 
Szubjektiv and Utopia, launched the pilot project “Integration 
through sport in Hungary”. The active integration of migrants in 
local sports clubs should help them find their feet in their new 
country, and make the host country more open and tolerant 
towards new arrivals. 

Member State 
Date 
Full reference  

Internet link 

Evaluated? Y/N 
Project aims 

The “Sport and cultural diversity” approach sees sports clubs as 
meeting places in which intercultural exchange can take place in a 
very natural, informal setting. People with migrant backgrounds 
have the opportunity to make friends, to access other areas of 
society, to develop social recognition through sporting achievement 
and to learn and practice the local language. Particularly for female 
migrants, sports clubs can provide an opportunity to leave the 
closed home setting regularly and to counteract the negative 
effects of loneliness and isolation through contact with the locals 
and physical activity. Clubs can get new members and ensure the 
long-term viability of the club. They have the possibility of 
discovering new sporting talents and fostering tolerance, respect 
and solidarity between members. 

The project partners thereby contribute to winning sports clubs 
over to integrating people with migrant backgrounds, and help 
them to do this. At the same time, they motivate migrants to take 
part in sport and help them to find sports clubs. The project 
provides migrants with integration opportunities in everyday life, 
and promotes mutual effort in bringing people closer together. The 
programme is a step on the way to developing sustainable 
integration policy in Hungary and breaks new ground in finding 
solutions to the country’s economic and demographic problems.  
  Project provided a win-win situation for the migrants/ refugees 

as well as for the sports clubs 

Key outcomes and 
success factors  

66 

 
 
 
 
 
 
BeFitIn – Integration through sport in Hungary 

  Capacity building on the part of the sports clubs was vital as this 
breaks down fears about not to be able to cope with their needs 

  Positive effects are expected with regards to breaking down 
stereotypes as well as supporting the active integration/ 
acceptance into civil society of migrants/ refugees 
Integration of migrants as a solution to demographic as well as 
economic problems (due to shrinking work force). Better 
integrated people are more likely to contribute economically. 
  Actively supporting physical and emotional wellbeing through 

 

Type 
Intervention 

physical activity. 
High level:  Plus sport 

of 

Secondary: Personal and Social Development 

Football Association of Ireland  

ID Number 

Organisation 
Name 

IE - 201 

Football Association of Ireland 

Member State  

IE 

Delivery Period 

Ongoing 

Full reference  

Sport Inclusion Network (2016). Inclusion of Migrants in and 
through Sports - A Guide to Good Practice. [online] 
http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf 
[Accessed 5 May 2016]. 

Internet link 

http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf  

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target group 

  Migrants - immigrant or ethnic minority backgrounds 

Project aims 

The FAI has used football to promote social inclusion and cohesion 
of people of immigrant or ethnic minority backgrounds. The FAI 
was the first national governing body of sport in Ireland to develop 
an Intercultural strategy and associated programmes.  

Key outcomes and 
factors 
success 
(where available)  

FAI actively works to promote a 10-15 percent participation rate of 
people from ethnic minority or migrant backgrounds on the 
programmes delivered through its Intercultural Football 
programme, Grassroots and other Departments. 

  The FAI’s strategy and programmes have been supported by 

the Irish Government within the framework of the 
Government’s Integration Strategy ‘Migration Nation’ and 
through the National Action Plan against Racism.  

  Various governing bodies of sport in Ireland have taken active 
measures to promote inclusion in sport through their policies. 

Type 
Intervention 

of 

High level: Sport Plus 

Secondary: Personal and Social Development  

67 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Corduff Community Youth Project 

ID Number 

Organisation 
Name 

Member State  

Delivery Period 

Full reference  

IE – 221 

IE  

-  

Sport Inclusion Network (2016). Inclusion of Migrants in and 
through Sports - A Guide to Good Practice. [online] 
http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf 
[Accessed 5 May 2016].  

Internet link 

http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf  

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target group 

  Migrants: those with a migration background, including ethnic 

Project aims 

minorities 

The project is situated in an area of huge ethnic and cultural 
diversity. The project runs a variety of programmes and activities 
aimed at enabling young people to engage in their own personal 
development. Many of these programmes focus on sports such as 
basketball, volleyball, boxing, football as well as programmes that 
cover a range of issues relevant to many teenagers (e.g. personal 
development, early school leaving, teenage sexual health etc...).  

Sport is used as an engagement tool and helps to build 
relationships and introduce young people to other personal 
development programmes on offer at the Youth Project. Football, 
because of its popularity, is used as an activity to engage young 
males in particular.  

Key outcomes and 
success 
factors 
(where available)  

  The impact has been an increased engagement of young people 
from migrant/ethnic minority backgrounds and a greater sense 
of mutual respect among adolescents from diverse 
backgrounds. 

Type 
Intervention  

of 

High level: Sport Plus 

Secondary: Education and Vocational Training / Personal and Social 
Development  

Africa Week Athletics 

ID Number 

Organisation 
Name 

IE - 500 

Sport Against Racism Ireland 

Member State  

Ireland 

Delivery Period 

2012-2020 

Full reference  

SARI (2012) Africa Week Athletics [http://www.sari.ie/africa-week-
athletics/, accessed 04/05/2016] 
ENGSO (2012) Creating a Level Playing Field: Social inclusion of 
migrants and ethnic minorities in Sport, ENGSO – European Non-
Governmental Sports Organisation 

68 

 
 
 
 
Internet link 

http://www.sari.ie/africa-week-athletics/  

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target group 

Project aims 

The key target groups are migrants and ethnic minorities aged 
from under 8 to 18. 

The programme involves mass participation of (20,000) male and 
female migrants and ethnic minorities (age 14+) from diverse 
ethnic backgrounds in a series of athletic events designed to run 
throughout the calendar period of two Olympic Games.  

Key outcomes and 
success 
factors 
(where available)  

Through the provision of regular intercultural family events, the 
main objective of the programme is to introduce the sport of 
athletics to people of an immigrant background living in Ireland.  

A further aim of the programme is to identify from the event 
talented athletes of an immigrant background that could aspire to 
reach a high standard in the sport and provide advice to them (or 
their families where applicable) on pathways into the sport. 

There is limited evaluation evidence available; however ENGSO 
(2012) identify a number of key elements of the programme:  

  Long-term funding: The project is funded for two Olympic 

periods which allows the programme to focus on longer-term 
objectives. 

  Communication/raise awareness: The programme employs a 

targeted number of migrant and ethnic minorities to participate. 
Local and national media was also used to generate support 
throughout the period of the London Olympics (so using a 
large-scale event as a hook for engagement) 

  Recruitment and reaching: The programme is endorsed by 
famous world class athletes, patrons and mentors who are 
employed in the reaching and recruitment process, set up by all 
involved partners. 

  Collaboration: The backbone of the programme is a solid 

partnership between different partners making it possible to use 
a variety of settings to hold the sports activities and workshops. 

Type 
Intervention 

of 

High level: Sport Plus 

Secondary: Personal and Social Development  

SARI Soccerfest 

ID Number 

Organisation 
Name 

IE-504 

Sport Against Racism Ireland (SARI) 

Member State  

Ireland 

Delivery Period 

Annual event (ongoing) 

Full reference 

ENGSO (2012) Creating a Level Playing Field: Social inclusion of 
migrants and ethnic minorities in Sport, ENGSO – European Non-
Governmental Sports Organisation 

Internet link 

http://www.sari.ie/sari-soccerfest/  

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

69 

 
 
 
 
SARI Soccerfest 

Target group 

Project aims 

Key outcomes and 
success factors 
(where available)  

Migrants and refugees (from aged 12)  – to encourage members of 
new communities to integrate with local communities 

The Soccerfest is one of the biggest 7-a-side intercultural football 
tournaments in Europe with approximately 4,500 participants with 
large ethnic diversity. The event is spread over a weekend in the 
summer. 

In August 2015, 32 male teams competed in an eight-group 
tournament, while four women’s teams contested their own cup. 
Team Syria, a team for refugees in Ireland coming from Syria, took 
part in Soccerfest in 2015, with the support of Glentoran FC who 
sponsored the team’s kit.40In addition to football, other activities, 
such as Gaelic Games, Tag Rugby, Chess, Table Tennis, Chinese 
Rope The event also offers a range of cultural activities including 
live entertainment for all the family.  

The key objective is to use a major sports event to create the 
environment for cultural integration and social inclusion.  

As part of the activities participants are given advice on 
mainstreaming into other sports organisations including developing 
links with soccer clubs. 

There is limited evaluation evidence available; however ENGSO 
(2012) identify a number of key elements of the programme:  

  Collaboration between GOs, NGOs and business partners: 

Although Football is the mainspring of the two day event, SARI 
accommodates its strategic alliance partners including Dublin 
Aids Alliance, Africa Centre, New Communities Partnership, and 
Concern Worldwide, NGOs such as UNICEF and UNESCO and 
agencies including Garda Siochana and Dublin CityCouncil. The 
number of volunteer workers is around 200. 

  Recruitment for mainstream sport: The organisers actively 
encourage ‘poaching’ of players by local clubs through a 
showcasing of football talent. Providing pathways to 
mainstream sport is seen as an effective method of culturally 
integrating people from diverse backgrounds. 

  Multi-stakeholder evaluation: The event is evaluated by a wide 

range of staff, participants and partners. Self-evaluation is done 
by the volunteers of SARI, the feedback of teams and visitors is 
also asked for. A report is prepared by the Dublin City Council 
as well as two academic partners, the International Centre for 
Sport Studies (CIES) and De Montfort University Leicester, UK. 
Another academic partner, Alpha College, Dublin is responsible 
for the qualitative analysis of the event.  

Type of 
Intervention 

High level: Sport Plus 

Secondary: Personal and Social Development / Volunteering in 
Sport  

40 http://www.farenet.org/news/sari-soccerfest-drives-migrant-inclusion-in-ireland/  

70 

 
 
 
 
                                           
Cricket Tournaments 

ID Number 

Organisation 
Name 

Member State  

Delivery Period 

Full reference  

IT – 205 

UISP and local committee of Brescia  

IT 

- 

Sport Inclusion Network (2016). Inclusion of Migrants in and 
through Sports - A Guide to Good Practice. [online] 
http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf 
[Accessed 5 May 2016]. 

Internet link 

http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf  

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target group 

  Migrants: those with a migration background, including ethnic 

Project aims 

Key outcomes and 
success 
factors 
(where available)  

minorities 

  Women 

In the town of Brescia a network of associations active in work with 
people with a migrant background, among them UISP, the local 
committee of Brescia, realised that it was difficult to involve the 
strong community of Asian people (e.g. from Pakistan, Sri Lanka 
etc.) in the organised sport activities. They found that it was 
because the sports usually proposed, like football, did not meet the 
interest of the community and were not part of their cultural 
background. Consequently, the group of organisations listened to 
the needs of migrants and organised, together with traditional 
football tournaments, some cricket tournaments, especially for 
migrants but open to everybody, as well as a female only 
tournament of “Elle” (a kind of baseball played by women in Asian 
countries).  

  There has been a long tradition of work with Asian communities 

so that the initial organisation of tournaments later resulted in 
the creation of a specific UISP area, namely the coordination of 
cricket tournaments in Rome.  

  As there is no cricket tradition in Italy, it was not a primary 

proposition as a sport for inclusion. This project demonstrates 
that sometimes the lack of involvement of people in a project is 
not necessarily a general lack of interest in structured activities, 
but is simply due to the difficulty of detecting the real wants of 
target groups. 

Type 
Intervention 

of 

High level: Sport Plus  

Secondary: Personal and Social Development 

Liberi Nantes football and touch rugby 

ID Number 

Organisation 
Name 

IT – 209 

Liberi Nantes Football Club 

Member State  

Delivery Period 

IT 

- 

71 

 
 
 
 
Liberi Nantes football and touch rugby 

Full reference  

Sport Inclusion Network (2016). Inclusion of Migrants in and 
through Sports - A Guide to Good Practice. [online] 
http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf 
[Accessed 5 May 2016].  

Internet link 

http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf  

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target group 

Project aims 

Key outcomes and 
success 
factors 
(where available)  

  Refugees: newly arrived migrants 
  Women 

Liberi Nantes Football Club is a football team in Rome which is 
composed of players, who are victims of forced migration. This is 
the first permanent team in Italy which decided to represent the 
population of refugees, asylum seekers and generally people 
obliged to escape from their country to survive. It is composed of 
25 players from Afghanistan, Eritrea, Guinea, Iraq, Nigeria, Sudan, 
Togo, Central Africa etc. 

For two years, Liberi Nantes has also managed a touch rugby 
training programme for women (asylum seekers but also Italian), 
and trekking activities for everyone. The aim is to offer the 
possibility to play sport and to foster connections and inclusion 
between refugees and Italians to everybody. 

  Because of a regulation in Italian football laws, a team 

composed solely of asylum seekers cannot play in official 
championships. Liberi Nantes finally obtained permission to play 
in the 3rd Category (the lowest) where they are exempted from 
the ranking, meaning that even if they win they have no 
possibility to gain points. It is a compromise to let people play 
and face other teams on the territory in official competitions. 

Type 
Intervention  

of 

High level: Sport Plus   

Secondary: Personal and Social Development 

IT – 210 
UISP Genova and Macaia Association 

Football Tournament “Cartellino rosso al razzismo” (show racism the red card) 
ID Number 
Organisation 
Name 
Member State  
Delivery Period 
Full reference  

IT 
2005 -  
Sport Inclusion Network (2016). Inclusion of Migrants in and 
through Sports - A Guide to Good Practice. [online] 
http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf 
[Accessed 5 May 2016].  
http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf  
N 

Internet link 

Evaluated? Y/N 

Target group 

  Refugees: newly arrived migrants 

72 

 
 
 
Football Tournament “Cartellino rosso al razzismo” (show racism the red card) 
Project aims 

The third edition of the anti-racist football tournament saw the 
participation of 24 teams made up of social communities, 
associations, students, social workers, supporters and new 
Genoese from Ecuador, Morocco, Tunisia, Peru, China, Senegal, 
Nigeria and Romania.  

Over the years the tournament demonstrated the ability to be an 
expression of a network of people and territorial initiatives 
regarding sport and football as an indispensable opportunity for 
community celebration, encounter, athletic competition, anti-
fascism and anti-racism.  

UISP Genoa also runs centre for children of second and third 
generations of migrants. The association is mainly active in Genoa 
and has about 200 members. The primary function is to carry out 
welcoming activities, providing a place where migrants can relax 
and have a shower, wash their clothes and where they have easy 
access to basic services. Along with these initiatives, sports 
initiatives are promoted in addition to recreational, artistic and 
musical workshops for adolescents.  
None stated 

High level: Sport Plus and Plus Sport   

Secondary: Personal and Social Development 

Key outcomes and 
factors 
success 
(where available)  
Type 
of 
Intervention  

Arcobaleni (Rainbows) 

ID Number 

Organisation 
Name 

Member State  

Delivery Period 

Full reference  

IT – 211 

UISP Genova and Macaia Association 

IT 

-  

Sport Inclusion Network (2016). Inclusion of Migrants in and 
through Sports - A Guide to Good Practice. [online] 
http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf 
[Accessed 5 May 2016].  

Internet link 

http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf  

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target group 

  Migrants: those with a migration background, including ethnic 

Project aims 

minorities 

This tournament – played in Turin - involves mixed teams of 
migrants (heterogeneous teams not characterized by nationality) 
without gender differences and skills. It does not focus solely on 
playing football but is also about being together. Arcobaleni was 
born from the “Arcobaleni in campo”, a UISP project for foreign and 
migrant communities. Many teams of different communities are 
established there and go on to participate in UISP national or local 

73 

 
 
 
Arcobaleni (Rainbows) 

football tournaments. The project aims to revive the inclusive 
values in football practice like, for example, a time to meet and 
socialize, play and discuss. Arcobaleni is an opportunity to promote 
concrete actions to establish a culture of dialogue and respect for 
others, using the popular language of football, understandable in all 
the languages of the world. 

Key outcomes and 
success 
factors 
(where available)  

None stated 

Type 
Intervention  

of 

High level: Sport Plus  

Secondary: Personal and Social Development 

Sport for girls 

ID Number 

Organisation 
Name 

Member State  

Delivery Period 

Full reference  

IT – 217 

UISP Turin 

IT 

-  

Sport Inclusion Network (2016). Inclusion of Migrants in and 
through Sports - A Guide to Good Practice. [online] 
http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf 
[Accessed 5 May 2016].  

Internet link 

http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf  

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target group 

  Migrants: those with a migration background, including ethnic 

minorities 

  Women 

Project aims 

Key outcomes and 
success 
factors 
(where available)  

UISP Turin have opened for the area’s female Muslim community 
two centres specifically for women and girls. The space is for 
women of every nationality and culture and provides courses, 
relaxation and children’s activities. The aim is inclusion, providing 
opportunities to meet and socialise as well as the enhancement of 
physical culture in general. 

-  Aims at supporting cultural dialogue specifically among women 
-  Targets general engagement with and participation in physical 

and mental well-being and activity. 

Type 
Intervention  

of 

High level: Plus Sport 

Secondary: Personal and Social Development  

Migrants’ Inclusion Model of Sports for All  (MIMoSA) 

IT – 232 

UISP - Italian Union of Sports for all 

ID Number 

Organisation 
Name 

74 

 
 
 
 
Member State  

IT  

Delivery Period 

2012 

Full reference  

Internet link 

Marivoet, S. (2012) Sport Inclusion Network (SPIN): Involving 
migrants in mainstream sport institutions. Final Evaluation Report  

http://www.footballforequality.org/fileadmin/mediapool/pdf/spin/SP
IN_Final_Evaluation_Report.pdf  

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target group 

  Migrants: those with a migration background, including ethnic 

minorities 

  Refugees: newly arrived migrants 

Project aims 

The goal of the project was to build and strengthen a transnational 
network and to create a model of social inclusion and 
empowerment for migrants (refugees, women requesting asylum, 
Roma, and asylum seekers). 

Key outcomes and 
success 
factors 
(where available)  

The intention was not only to deepen the context of reference and 
understand the main areas of involvement, but also to offer specific 
recommendations and the practical advice for improving social 
inclusion of target populations often considered marginalized within 
the sports world, both at the professional and amateur level. 

  Among the obstacles that migrants encounter are: limited 
financial resources and lack of information on the sports 
organizations, sports facilities and their locations. Cooperation 
among sports organizations, migrant organizations, and 
national and local authorities is limited or even absent; it would 
be necessary to create a strong network among these 
stakeholders to effectively face the emerging problems. 

Type 
Intervention 

of 

High level: Sport Plus  

Secondary: Personal and Social Development  

Cruijff Courts 

ID Number 

Organisation 
Name 

NL-305 

Johan Cruijff Foundation 

Member State  

NL 

Delivery Period 

2003-ongoing 

Full reference  

Internet link 

Cruyff-foundation.org. (2016). Cruyff Foundation | Cruyff 
Foundation. [online] Available at: http://www.cruyff-foundation.org/  
[Accessed 5 May 2016]. 

http://www.cruyff-foundation.org/ 
http://ec.europa.eu/sport/library/documents/streetworldfootball-
refugees_en.pdf 

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target group 

  Young people living in disadvantaged neighbourhoods 

(frequently with a migration background) 

  Disabled young people 

Project aims 

Cruijff Courts have been built in numerous disadvantaged 
neighbourhoods across the Netherlands. The goal is to bring back a 

75 

 
 
 
 
Cruijff Courts 

Key outcomes and 
success 
factors 
(where available)  

playing field for young people, after years of urbanisation and 
neighbourhood expansion.  

It offers young people a safe place to practice sports and thus 
serves as a meeting place for people with a range of backgrounds. 
Themes such as respect, health, integration, development and 
collaboration are key to the project.  

In cooperation with neighbourhoods, the local government, private 
organisations, schools, sports and football associations, 
professional football clubs and the local business community, 
activities are organised on the Cruijff courts with the main aim of 
bringing young people together and improving the social cohesion 
in the community  

  The Johan Cruijff Foundation engages roughly 100,000 children 

engaged in sports activities per week.  

  There are approximately 208 Cruiff courts, of which 35 are 

outside the Netherlands (e.g. in Belgium, Spain, Poland, the 
United Kingdom, the United States and Japan). 

  The Foundation received the UEFA Charity Award in recognition 

 

for its activities in 2013 
It not only provides young people with a safe space where they 
can come together and play sports, but it also actively engages 
other actors within the community to organise events and 
activities 

Type 
Intervention 

of 

High level: Sport Plus  

Secondary: Personal and Social Development  

Alna School Project  

ID Number 

Organisation 
Name 

NO - 506 

Furuset sport institution 

Member State  

NO 

Delivery Period 

Project has been set up since 2005 

Full reference  

ENGSO (2012) Creating a Level Playing Field: Social inclusion of 
migrants and ethnic minorities in Sport, ENGSO – European Non-
Governmental Sports Organisation 

Internet link 

No link to project found 

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target group 

Project aims 

Young women and men (aged 15-25) mostly with a migrant and 
ethnic minority background. 

The project offers participants a leadership role in joint activities 
relating to local community sports, other leisure activities, and 
volunteer work.  

The programme aims to develop leadership skills and positive role 
models in the local community.  

Key outcomes and  There is limited evaluation evidence available; however ENGSO 

76 

 
 
 
 
Alna School Project  

success 
factors 
(where available)  

(2012) identify a number of key elements of the programme:  

  Recruitment and reaching: The Alna school project involves 
mainly migrant and ethnic minority adolescents and young 
people in a visible and positive leadership role and in taking up 
responsibilities within the local community and giving them a 
role in reaching other adolescents. 

  Collaboration: The Alna school works together with the Furuset 
sport institution which facilitates awareness, recruitment and 
monitoring. 

Type 
Intervention 

of 

High level: Plus Sport 

Secondary: Personal and Social Development / Volunteering in 
Sport  

Etnoliga 

ID Number 

Organisation 
Name 

PL-307 

Fundacja DLA Wolności 

Member State  

PL 

Delivery Period 

2005-ongoing 

Full reference  

Fundacjadlawolnosci.org. (2016). Etnoliga – Foundation for 
Freedom. [online] Available at: 
http://www.fundacjadlawolnosci.org/en/etnoliga-2/  [Accessed 5 
May 2016]. 

Internet link 

http://www.fundacjadlawolnosci.org/en/etnoliga-2/ 

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target group 

  Refugees and asylum seekers 

Project aims 

The project aims to bring together refugees and other members of 
society through sport. In 2005, the first tournament was organised 
in Warsaw, and the Foundation invited refugees from Chechnya 
and Africa, as well as students and pupils. In the following years, 
more groups joined the tournament, and by the third and fourth 
years they had already had 12 teams participating in the 
tournament. They started including women in the teams, 
introducing a rule that each team had to made up of at least three 
women. Due to the popularity and interest in the tournaments, a 
solid league was set up in 2010, in which teams compete with each 
other in Spring and Autumn (each season lasts approximately 3 
months).   

At present there are usually around 12-20 teams participating in 
the league, and each team must include at least three men and 
three women, from at least three nationalities. Each team also 
must prepare a formal presentation and is responsible for 
refreshments during the season. 

77 

 
 
 
 
Etnoliga 

Key outcomes and 
factors 
success 
(where available)  

  They create a multicultural community in which each participant 

comes together through a shared love of football.  

  Approximately 1000 people from over 50 countries participate 

annually. 

  All teams must consist of members from different countries, as 

well as having at least three men and women playing 
  Outside the games there are contests, refreshments and 

presentations of the teams, allowing teams to socialise with one 
another.  

Type 
Intervention 

of 

High level: Sport Plus  

Secondary: Personal and Social Development  

The  Choices  Ball  Forward  (Escolhas  Bola  p’ra  Frente)  and  Choices  Younger 
(Escolhas Mais Jovem) 

ID Number 

Organisation 
Name 

Member State  

Delivery Period 

Full reference  

Internet link 

PT – 222 

The Choices Ball Forward (Escolhas Bola p’ra Frente) and Choices 
Younger (Escolhas Mais Jovem) 

PT 

-  

Sport Inclusion Network (2016). Inclusion of Migrants in and 
through Sports - A Guide to Good Practice. [online] 
http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf 
[Accessed 5 May 2016].  

http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf 
http://bolaprafrente.programaescolhas.pt/projecto 
www.maisjovem.net/projecto 

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target group 

  Migrants: those with a migration background, including ethnic 

minorities 

Project aims 

78 

The project is social intervention through street football in more 
vulnerable socio-economic contexts, with descendents of 
immigrants and ethnic minorities among their target group. In 
addition to the regular training activities and participation in inter-
team games involving adolescents residing in the target-
neighbourhoods, the projects focus on the training of trainers, their 
objective being the creation of a theoretical-practical socio-sports 
methodology of street football as a support. The experimentation 
process of this resource is based on an interactive and participative 
dynamic between the trainers and the target group, with some 
young people trained to fulfil the function of trainer.  

In the instruments/tools of the choices resources, we find the 
creation of DVDs and brochures on the intervention methodologies 
in the training of street football in community contexts 
(neighbourhoods, municipalities, small towns, schools and 
institutions that accommodate children and youths under a 
boarding regime). As strategies for social inclusion in and through 

 
 
 
 
The  Choices  Ball  Forward  (Escolhas  Bola  p’ra  Frente)  and  Choices  Younger 
(Escolhas Mais Jovem) 

Key outcomes and 
success 
factors 
(where available)  

sport, these projects focus on training the target groups for street 
football player and trainer, with the aim of improving personal, 
organisational, social, and civic skills.  

  These Choices projects are innovative due to their adoption of 

empowerment strategies at the level of sports, civic and 
personal skills (which might facilitate target group 
employment); their inclusion of a wide group of participants 
with minimal technical resources required of the promoting 
body; and the creation of validated resources with the potential 
for transferability at the level of training the street football 
trainers. 

Type 
Intervention  

of 

High level: Sport Plus 

Secondary: Education and Vocational Training / Personal and Social 
Development  

Judo in uptown Lisbon (Judo na Alta de Lisboa) 

ID Number 

Organisation 
Name 

PT – 225 

Lisbon Judo Club in partnership with three groups of local schools 

Member State  

PT 

Delivery Period 

 2007 

Full reference  

Internet link 

Sport Inclusion Network (2016). Inclusion of Migrants in and 
through Sports - A Guide to Good Practice. [online] 
http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf 
[Accessed 5 May 2016].  

http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf 
www.jcl.pt 
http://judoclisboa.blogspot.com 

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target group 

  Migrants: those with a migration background, including ethnic 

Project aims 

minorities 

The project has as its target group children and young people, who 
frequent the schools and other institutions of the area, including 
those from more needy families residing in social housing 
neighbourhoods, mainly 3rd generation immigrants. The project 
currently involves 600 children and young adults. The objectives of 
the project involve social inclusion in and through sport, in this 
case through the regular practice of judo by children and youths 
from families of different social strata. The strategy of social 
intervention thus involves different aspects, such as pedagogy and 
sports, and also the promotion of sociability networks across the 
different social conditions. The activities developed include regular 
judo training sessions at schools and at the local sports facilities 
ceded to the project, travels for participation in internships, 
tournaments, and social and sports holidays.  

79 

 
 
 
Judo in uptown Lisbon (Judo na Alta de Lisboa) 

Key outcomes and 
factors 
success 
(where available)  

  The strategies of social inclusion in and through sport adopted 
in this project focus on the educational potential of judo for the 
development of motor, intellectual, emotional and social skills 
(in particular aggression management) and the transmission of 
values (judo´s Code of Ethics) to the target group. 

Type 
Intervention  

of 

High level: Sport Plus 

Secondary: Personal and Social Development  

Different Colours United 

ID Number 

Organisation 
Name 

SK-308 

IInštitút pre medzikultúrny dialog (Institute for Intercultural 
Dialogue) 

Member State  

SK 

Delivery Period 

2010-present 

Full reference  

Internet link 

http://sportspaja.ipmd.sk/different-colours-united/  

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target group 

Project aims 

Key outcomes and 
success 
factors 
(where available)  

  Refugees and asylum seekers 
  Minority groups (particularly Roma) 

Different Colours United came into existence came into existence in 
collaboration with Bratislava’s League of Small Football 
(Bratislavská liga v malom futbale), the NGO People Against 
Racism (Ľudia proti rasizmu) and the Football Against Racism 
(FARE) network organisation. The team started in the second 
league but in 2012 (a project of Institute for Intercultural Dialogue) 
qualified to the upper league. 

Different Colours United is a now a project that falls under the 
campaign “Sport Unites – Different colours, one game” of the 
Slovak NGO Institute for Intercultural Dialogue. The football team 
competes in the league, and consists of asylum seekers, Roma and 
native Slovak football players. The team competes in the league as 
well as the football tournaments during FARE action weeks.  

The team brings together people from various backgrounds, 
fostering friendships and promoting understanding of different 
cultures and beliefs. They aim to prove that a strong team can be 
built from a diverse group of people with a love for the same sport.  

  The project includes individuals from a range of backgrounds, as 

 

well as top footballers in Slovakia.  
It promotes teamwork and understanding among a range of 
people 

  Sometimes there are conflicts within the team or with opposing 

Type 
Intervention 

teams during a game. 

of 

High level: Sport Plus 

Secondary: Personal and Social Development   

80 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Be Apart of it  

ID Number 

UK-101 

Name 

Street Soccer Northern Ireland 

Member State 

UK 

Date 

2010 – ongoing  

Full reference 

Internet link 

http://www.streetsoccerni.org  

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target Group 

Project aims 

Key  findings  and 
recommendations  

  Refugees and asylum seekers as well as disadvantaged groups 

in Ireland 

Street Soccer NI is a project for disadvantaged groups, including 
refugees, asylum seekers, the homeless, drug and alcohol 
dependants and long term unemployed. The project aims to 
improve the lives of these socially disadvantaged groups through 
the use of football, it will also provide an integrated society in 
Belfast with people from all types of disadvantaged backgrounds. 

Football training sessions are offered every Friday morning with a 
five-a-side league run in the afternoon. There are over 100 
participants who attend the programme throughout the year, with 
the main group attending being males aged between 16 – 25. 

Street Soccer NI works with Stepping Stone and Princes Trust who 
provide access to training and employment. Refugees are able to 
attend drop-in classes and see an employment mentor for one on 
one training sessions. Stepping Stone provides assistance with 
CV’s, interview technique, application forms and much more. This 
can prove invaluable for asylum seekers and refugees, granting 
them inside knowledge on the Irish job market and what employers 
are looking for. Stepping Stones has contacts within companies 
that regularly recruit and are able to put forward suitable 
candidates for selection. 

The organisation also offers members the opportunity to gain a 
level one coaching certificate. With the coaching certificate 
members have the opportunity to volunteer their coaching skills. 

  The programme helps build self confidence and relationships. 
 

It works with organisations such as Stepping Stone and Princes 
Trust, providing training and employment. 

  Members are offered the opportunity to earn coaching 

certificates.  

  Due to the mix of disadvantaged people, refugees may be 
discriminated against, leading to further segregation. 

Type 
Intervention 

of 

High level: Sport Plus  

Secondary: Personal and Social Development / Volunteering in 
Sport / Education and Vocational Training / Employability Support 

81 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
The Refugee Cricket Project 

ID Number 

UK-103 

Name 

Refugee Council and Cricket for Change (now part of The Change 
Foundation) 

Member State 

EN 

Date 

2009 – ongoing  

Full reference  

Internet link 

 http://www.thechangefoundation.org.uk/our-programmes/cricket-
for-change/refugee-cricket-project/  

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target Group 

Some projects have a specific focus on one target group: 

  Refugees: newly arrived migrants 
  Young alone males 

Cricket For Change along with the Refugee Council set up The 
Refugee Cricket Project in London. At the end of 2011-12 Croydon 
was looking after approximately 15% of all young, unaccompanied 
asylum seekers in the UK (source: Croyden Children and Families 
Partnership 2013). 

The Cricket Centre, the home to the Cricket for Change 
organisation allows migrants a place where they can interact with 
other migrants and an opportunity to re-build their lives. It offers a 
safe friendly environment where the boys can relax and express 
their feelings, in a usually low social-economic area of London. 
Membership has grown, with 50 boys involved, and around 35 
turning up to training every week, showing integration into the UK 
and this traditionally English sport. 

The organisation alongside providing cricket skills and a location for 
the friends to meet focuses on the long term future of the boys. 
Assistance with academic work is offered, leading to some of the 
boys progressing onto university. These classes and cricket training 
allow the refugees to practice and improve their English. The young 
alone asylum seekers are offered advice and support, the weekly 
advice centre is run for youths where invaluable guidance with 
asylum applications and welfare issues is provided. 

One of the refugees has now become a youth leader and manager 
at The Refugee Cricket Project he also works as a volunteer 
interpreter for a refugee organisation. He won the Spirit of London 
award, highlighting the success story of the refugee and the 
project. This shows successful integration into England where he 
now has the ability to support other refugees. 

  Due to struggles in their home countries refugees can 

sometimes have trust issues, it is difficult to overcome these, 
however creating a welcoming homely environment helps. 
  Long term members help translate for new members assisting 

with integration and improving language skills. 

  Cricket allows the large community of refugees to come 

together and share experiences in a safe, relaxing, enjoyable 
environment. 

Project aims 

Key  findings  and 
recommendations  

82 

 
 
 
 
 
 
The Refugee Cricket Project 

  As The Refugee Cricket Project is only for migrants, when 

playing external teams, it could lead to discrimination. It may 
also allow radicals to target the group. 

  The refugees are great ambassadors for cricket and their home 

Type 
Intervention 

countries. 

of 

High level: Sport Plus 

Secondary:  Personal  and  Social  Development  /  Education  and 
Vocational Training / Volunteering in Sport 

Canterbury Rugby Club  

ID Number 

UK-105 

Name 

Canterbury Rugby Club and Migrant Help UK 

Member State 

EN 

Date 

2015 – ongoing  

Full reference  

Internet link 

http://www.migranthelpuk.org/news-and-press/our-
news/community-engagement/conversion-to-rugby-overcomes-
migrants-language-barrier/  

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target Group 

Project aims 

  Refugees: newly arrived migrants with a focus on children 

The partnership between Migrant Help UK and Canterbury Rugby 
Club aims to integrate newly arrived male and female migrants 
from ages 6 and above into the local community through rugby. 
Migrant families settling in the local area are invited to participate 
in rugby, on the pitch everyone is equal and needs support from 
their team members. Funding for the children is also provided, 
removing potential barriers to participation and integration.  

It is currently a piolet scheme, targeting those whose first language 
is not English, through involving them in sport, this will allow them 
to interact with other children and overcome language barriers. 
Breaking down these cultural barriers will allow the children to 
integrate into the rugby team and the wider community, generating 
a feeling of acceptance. 

The programme will allow members to develops rugby skills, make 
new friends and participate in local tournaments. Creating new 
friends for the children is crucial as they are entering a new country 
where they only know their family. These friends help integrate the 
children and can also help integrate the parents as they watch their 
children and talk to other parents. This brings a community spirit to 
the team throughout the age groups as they are all part the club as 
a whole.   

Key findings and 
recommendations  

  Child migrants are encouraged to make friends with other 
children, by involving them in various rugby programmes.  
  As the children are integrated into society it is likely to also 

integrate the parents. 

83 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Canterbury Rugby Club  

  Where the language barrier is an issue, actions can be mimicked 

 

allowing the migrants to feel included. 
If successful other clubs in the local area will look to replicate 
the programme. 

  Yorkshire Cricket Club has asked for guidance, trying to 

implement a similar campaign due to health issues in the North 
of England. 

  The campaign supports a physical and emotional wellbeing 

Type of 
Intervention 

through rugby. 

High level: Sport Plus  

Secondary: Personal and Social Development / Education Training 

Anti-racism action plan 

ID Number 

Organisation 
Name 

UK – 203 

Lancashire Cricket Board 

Member State  

UK 

Delivery Period 

2003  

Full reference  

Sport Inclusion Network (2016). Inclusion of Migrants in and 
through Sports - A Guide to Good Practice. [online] 
http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf 
[Accessed 5 May 2016]. 

Internet link 

http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf  

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target group 

  Migrants: those with a migration background, including ethnic 

minorities 

Lancashire Cricket Board started its own action plan in 2003 with 
the aim of including more Black and minority ethnic persons in the 
different levels of the game. Part of the action plan is the 
establishment of local “Ethnic minority development groups” whose 
input on the implementation of the plan is to be sought throughout 
the process.  

Award system for clubs to achieve “EquiMarks”, i.e. become a club 
that is open to Black and minority ethnic groups.  

Equality training for coaches, a strategy to recruit Black and 
minority ethnic coaches and a Black and minority ethnic liaison 
contact person. 

  The actual outcome of the plan could not clearly be determined. 
However, “Ethnic Minorities” figures prominently as one area of 
the cricket board’s website (currently under reconstruction) and 
is an assigned work field for one of three development 
managers which might be taken as an indication for an on-
going engagement from the cricket board 

Project aims 

Key outcomes and 
success 
factors 
(where available)  

84 

 
 
 
Anti-racism action plan 

Type 
Intervention 

of 

High level: Sport Plus  

Secondary: Personal and Social Development /  

Perceptions & Experiences of Rugby League: Asian Muslim young people 

ID Number 

Organisation 
Name 

UK – 206 

Rugby Football League 

Member State  

UK 

Delivery Period 

2010 -  

Full reference  

Internet link 

Sport  Inclusion  Network  (2016).  Inclusion  of  Migrants  in  and 
[online] 
through  Sports 
http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf 
[Accessed 5 May 2016].  

to  Good  Practice. 

-  A  Guide 

http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf 
Rugby Football League (ed.) (2010): Perceptions & Experiences of 
Rugby League: Asian Muslim young people. Leeds 
http://rflmedia.therfl.co.uk/docs/RFL_BME_Research_doc_24pp.pdf
_final.pdf  

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target group 

  Migrants: those with a migration background, including ethnic 

minorities 

Project aims 

Key outcomes and 
success 
factors 
(where available)  

An interesting project for the inclusion of young Asian Muslims has 
taken  place  under  the  direction  of  the  Rugby  Football  League  in 
order to learn about their perceptions and experiences with rugby. 
The regions chosen were Leeds, Bradford, Huddersfield and Oldham 
based  on  a  high  proportion  of  Black  and  minority  ethnic/Asian 
communities  and  a  strong  rugby  tradition  in  the  area.  Contacts  to 
local  communities  were  established  beforehand.  Target  groups 
were young males and females who had previously had little or no 
contact  with  rugby  that  is  neither  as  active  players  nor  as 
spectators. 

Model  of  research  can  be  adapted  to  any  community  the  RFL  or 
club would like to engage with more effectively.  
  Provides local understanding of perceptions, experiences and 
potential barriers and information about the specific group 
targeted.  

  The most significant barrier is a lack of opportunity not a lack of 

 

interest. 
Importance of not generalising and making assumptions about 
Asian communities - differences based on gender, age, 
generation, faith and culture and over time.  

  Community development model is more likely to lead to 

increased participation;  

-  partnerships with local organisations.  
- 

consultation ask what does the community want and 
need rather than assuming.  

85 

 
 
 
 
Perceptions & Experiences of Rugby League: Asian Muslim young people 

long term strategy not a 6 week initiative then leave.  

- 
-  developing the capacity of the local community.  
  Equality and Diversity training for existing staff and volunteers 
is essential if our sport is to be truly welcoming and inclusive.  

  Alongside competition structure ensure opportunities to play for 

fun and to get fit etc particularly when targeting girls. 

Type 
Intervention  

of 

High level: Sport Plus   

Secondary: Personal and Social Development 

Asian Football Network (AFN) 

ID Number 

UK – 212 

Organisation 
Name 

Asian Football Network (AFN) 

Member State  

UK 

Delivery Period 

2004 -  

Full reference  

Sport Inclusion Network (2016). Inclusion of Migrants in and 
through Sports - A Guide to Good Practice. [online] 
http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf 
[Accessed 5 May 2016].  

Internet link 

http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf  

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target group 

  Migrants: those with a migration background, including ethnic 

minorities 

Project aims 

The Asian Football Network (AFN) founded in 2004 in London offers 
mainly strategic support to a grass-roots football movement (not 
necessarily limited to Asian communities). The initiative underlines 
its bottom-up approach and positions its website as a support and 
exchange forum with a variety of information including good 
practice case studies around the topic of Asians in football.  

Among the AFN’s own projects is the Coaching Pathway Programme 
for providing Football Association level 1 (i.e. basic) coaching 
courses for Asian and ethnic minority men and women together 
with County Football Associations.  

The programme is informed by research trying to understand the 
lack of participation from Asian communities in the existing 
coaching programmes; its ultimate objective is to channel more 
Asian and minority ethnic individuals into mainstream provision 
programmes. Another initiative is focused on creating local forums 
of different agencies to foster common projects like taster sessions, 
tournaments etc. 

Key outcomes and 
factors 
success 

Non stated 

86 

 
 
 
Asian Football Network (AFN) 

(where available)  

Type 
Intervention  

of 

High level: Sport Plus  

Secondary: Personal and Social Development / Volunteering in 
Sport  

UK – 214 
British Asian Rugby Association 

British Asian Rugby Association 
ID Number 
Organisation 
Name 
Member State  
Delivery Period 
Full reference  

UK 
-  
Sport Inclusion Network (2016). Inclusion of Migrants in and 
through Sports - A Guide to Good Practice. [online] 
http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf 
[Accessed 5 May 2016].  
http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf  
www.bararugby.com  
N 

Internet link 

Evaluated? Y/N 

Target group 

  Migrants: those with a migration background, including ethnic 

Project aims 

Key outcomes and 
success 
factors 
(where available)  
Type 
of 
Intervention  

Women in Action  

ID Number 

Organisation 
Name 

Member State  

Delivery Period 

Full reference  

minorities 

The British Asian Rugby Association was set up in 2004 in Bradford 
with a multi-agencies co-operation by the council, the mainstream 
Rugby organisation, and Sport England. Its aim is to provide 
positive role models, foster more participation and overcome 
cultural and religious barriers. 
Non stated 

High level: Sport Plus  

Secondary: Personal and Social Development  

UK – 215 

Women in Action  

UK 

-  

Sport Inclusion Network (2016). Inclusion of Migrants in and 
through Sports - A Guide to Good Practice. [online] 
http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf 
[Accessed 5 May 2016].  

Internet link 

http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf   

87 

 
 
 
 
Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target group 

  Migrants: those with a migration background, including ethnic 

minorities 

Project aims 

Women in Action emerged from a women-only swimming group set 
up in an area of Cardiff with a high black and minority ethnic 
population rate. The course was run by project workers from the 
health sector: the Barefoot Health Workers’ Project and the 
Triangle Project, an action research project at Cardiff University 
and funded by the Health Promotion Division for Wales.  

Over 130 women from the Yemeni, Somali, Pakistani, Indian, 
Bangladeshi and Chinese communities participated in the sessions. 
The follow-up included training courses (e.g. building capacity 
course, food and nutrition training), lifeguards trainings and 
outings to break down social isolation. 

Key outcomes and 
success 
factors 
(where available)  

Non stated 

Type 
Intervention  

of 

High level: Sport Plus   

Secondary: Personal and Social Development / Volunteering in 
Sport  

Street Games 

ID Number 

Organisation 
Name 

UK – 223 

Sport England and the Football Foundation 

Member State  

UK 

Delivery Period 

2007 -  

Full reference  

Sport Inclusion Network (2016). Inclusion of Migrants in and 
through Sports - A Guide to Good Practice. [online] 
http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf 
[Accessed 5 May 2016].  

Internet link 

http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf 

http://www.streetgames.org/resources/research-insight-reports 

Evaluated? Y/N 

Y 

Target group 

  Like many recently established initiatives it has no explicit focus 

on migrants but on “deprived communities”. 

Street Games was funded by Sport England, the Football 
Foundation and various donations in 2007 operating in England, 
and Wales, and starting in Scotland in the summer of 2011. It 
supports local projects in co-operation with sports providers, local 
groups, project workers but also entails a volunteer campaign “Co-
operative StreetGames Young Volunteers” that draws on 
adolescents, previously involved in StreetGames projects and offers 
them training as well as organising national reward and recognition 

Project aims 

88 

 
 
 
 
 
Street Games 

Key outcomes and 
success 
factors 
(where available)  

events as incentives. Further projects include fundraising 
workshops for local initiatives or info on case studies. 

Type 
Intervention  

of 

High level: Sport Plus 

Secondary: Education and Vocational Training / Personal and Social 
Development / Volunteering in Sport 

Positive Futures, Sport Action Zones, and Active Communities  

ID Number 

UK – 224 

Organisation 
Name 

Member State  

Delivery Period 

Full reference  

Internet link 

Sport England  

UK 

 -  

Sport Inclusion Network (2016). Inclusion of Migrants in and 
through Sports - A Guide to Good Practice. [online] 
http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf 
[Accessed 5 May 2016].  

http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf 
www.posfutures.org.uk 
www.thesportactionzone.org 

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target group 

  Migrants: those with a migration background, including ethnic 

Project aims 

minorities 

The target groups of all are socially deprived communities and 
groups (including migrants, women and girls, disabled people) with 
less than average participation in sport. The objective is to support 
local projects and the reports from the programmes indicate that a 
basis for success is the co-operation with deliverers who know the 
specific needs of the community (and ethnic groups) and ideally 
are part of it themselves. 

Positive Futures, which from the beginning was focused more on 
young criminal offenders and drug-users has been taken over by 
the Home Office and includes also arts and media projects and co-
operates among others with FURD “Football unites, Racism 
divides”, a long-standing anti-racist football initiative and charity 
based in Sheffield.  

Sport Action Zones were set up in 2000, the London North Lambeth 
and North Southwark Sport Action Zone seems the most active 
today. It has now partnerships with London boroughs and also 
commercial sponsors.  

Active Communities Network has partnerships with corporations 

89 

 
 
 
 
Positive Futures, Sport Action Zones, and Active Communities  

and for example the Premier League. Active Communities Network 
has recently published a detailed report of its Breaking Barriers 
programme for community cohesion and sport in different London 
boroughs with special emphasis on engaging minority ethnic 
communities through among others boxing and football. But it also 
included qualifications for youths as boxing tutor, football referee, 
youth worker etc.  

Key outcomes and 
success 
factors 
(where available)  

 

Important keys of success listed in the Breaking Barriers report 
are: accessible, comfortable and neutral venues and facilities; 
peer role models; events as incentives; co-operation with 
existing structures and locally identifiable staff. 

Type 
Intervention  

of 

High level: Sport Plus 

Secondary: Education and Vocational Training / Personal and Social 
Development / Volunteering in Sport 

Lilian Baylis Old School 

ID Number 

Organisation 
Name 

UK – 226 

Lilian Baylis Old School 

Member State  

UK 

Delivery Period 

2004 

Full reference  

Sport Inclusion Network (2016). Inclusion of Migrants in and 
through Sports - A Guide to Good Practice. [online] 
http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf 
[Accessed 5 May 2016].  

Internet link 

http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf 

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target group 

  Migrants: those with a migration background, including ethnic 

Project aims 

minorities 

The Lilian Baylis Old School (LBOS) lies in the London borough of 
Lambeth with a rate of 37 % black and minority ethnic population 
and serious gang crime activities and violence with previously no 
leisure facilities. The LBOS is a very good example of a venue 
turned into a successful community and sports activity centre. In 
2004 the school moved house; local residents and groups and the 
“Sport Action Zone” initiative used the old building for summer 
school sports activities in 2005. This was followed by more 
partnerships (with sport clubs, churches, commercial partners and 
other programmes like Positive Futures and StreetGames) to 
expand the programme. Currently the council plans to hand over 
control of part of the site to a community trust to run the sports 
and leisure activities.  

Key outcomes and 
success 
factors 
(where available)  

  LBOS has been turned into a community sports hub which 

offers many different sports and other activities with impressive 
participation figures and is used by different partners; it also 

90 

 
 
 
 
Lilian Baylis Old School 

 

features very positively in the Breaking Barriers report as a 
suitable venue to be used.  
In an area with gang crime activity and violence the LBOS 
seems to have shaped a “neutral”, accessible and welcoming 
space and a focal point for the whole community, which is now 
also working as a model for other areas. 

Type 
Intervention  

of 

High level: Sport Plus 

Secondary: Personal and Social Development  

Grasshoppers Rugby Football Club 

ID Number 

UK – 228 

Organisation 
Name 

Grasshoppers Rugby Football Club 

Member State  

UK 

Delivery Period 

Full reference  

Sport Inclusion Network (2016). Inclusion of Migrants in and 
through Sports - A Guide to Good Practice. [online] 
http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf 
[Accessed 5 May 2016].  

Internet link 

http://www.dge.mec.pt/sites/default/files/Projetos/Agenda_Europei
a_Migracoes/Documentos/inclusion_in_sport_guidelines.pdf 

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target group 

  Migrants: those with a migration background, including ethnic 

minorities 

Project aims 

The Grasshoppers Rugby Football Club in Middlesex has formed 
connections with the Schools Sports Partnership programme to 
bring rugby to youngsters especially from black and minority ethnic 
communities. The club holds close links with the two Schools 
Sports Partnership (SSP) teams in Hounslow and has now provided 
483 hours of coaching to 2671 young people (1406 out of them 
were girls, 1198 came from a black or other minority ethnic 
groups). Even more interesting is the appointment of a community 
rugby coach (funded by the club and Sport England), who focuses 
on primary schools and the large ethnic minority in the area.  

Key outcomes and 
success 
factors 
(where available)  

  The engagement of the club seemingly stems mostly from the 

wish to generate new junior players and volunteers.  
  The club is the winner of the Social Inclusion Award of the 

Rugby Football Union (RFU) 2008/2009. 

Type 
Intervention  

of 

High level: Sport Plus 

Secondary: Personal and Social Development  

91 

 
 
 
 
 
 
Sport 4 Life 

ID Number 

UK-306 

Organisation 
Name 

Sport 4 Life 

Member State  

UK 

Delivery Period 

Founded in 2006 

Full reference  

Sport 4 Life UK. (2016). Home - Sport 4 Life UK. [online] Available 
at: http://sport4life.org.uk  [Accessed 5 May 2016]. 

Internet link 

http://sport4life.org.uk/ 
http://ec.europa.eu/sport/library/documents/streetworldfootball-
refugees_en.pdf 

Evaluated? Y/N 

N 

Target group 

  Young people between 12 and 25 (of which 86% have a BAME 

background) 

Project aims 

Key outcomes and 
success 
factors 
(where available)  

92 

Sport 4 Life is a Birmingham-based charity that aims to support 
disadvantaged young people between 12 and 25 by using sport as 
a hook to improving key life skills and promoting employability. 
Through their support they aim to build confidence and self-
esteem, transform behaviour, gain a qualification, find a job and 
reduce the likelihood of them offending.  

Approximately 12% of participants (aged 11+) are excluded from 
school. 11% of participants (aged 15+) have criminal records. 86% 
come from BAME (Black, Asian, minority ethnic) backgrounds, and 
85% of participants (aged 16+) have been out of employment, 
education or training for more than 6 months.  

They deliver structured sports sessions to young people to initially 
engage them, before subsequently introducing them to other 
programmes offered by the charity. The use the theme of sport, 
physical activity and health throughout all programmes. Other 
programmes and activities offered by the charity include education 
workshops, volunteer schemes, employability workshops, 
qualifications and awards and structured one-to-one mentoring. 

The six organisational objectives are to: 
1. Gain qualifications 
2. Progress into education, employment, or training 
3. Reduce their offending 
4. Transform their behaviour 
5. Improve their self esteem 
6. Increase their resilience 

In 2014/15: 

  719 young people attend more than 5 sessions or gained an 

accredited qualification or award 

  877 sessions were delivered 
  There was an aggregate attendance of 11,620 
  621 sports sessions were delivered 

 
 
 
Sport 4 Life 

  3507 workshops were delivered 
  The programme saved £5.36 million in the past year to society 
  77% of unemployed young people engaged in the personal 

development and employability programmes progressed into 
employment, education or training. 

  92% of ex-offenders did not reoffend up to six months following 

their engagement 

  91% reported an improvement in behaviour 
  92% reported an increase in self-esteem 

Type 
Intervention 

of 

High level: Plus Sport 

Secondary:  Education  and  Vocational  Training,  Employability 
Support, Personal and Social Development, Volunteering in Sport   

93 

 
 
 
 
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ISBN: 978-92-79-59523-3