We ASPIRE after open sports clubs that welcome refugees

Led by ENGSO, co-funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the European Union and supported by the European Lotteries Association (EL), ASPIRE (Activities, Sport & Play for the Integration of Refugees in Europe) could serve as a pioneer in long-term perspective, using the added value of sport in offering a solution for inclusion during and after the settlement of refugees.

The project partners will seek to meet the project goals by the development and implementation of a training module that can support people involved in sport to adapt their existing coaching activities to the specific context of the refugees. The training module will enhance the skills and competences of facilitators in the area of psychosocial support and intercultural learning, and also compile innovative approaches to make sports organisations more open, accessible and inclusive.

The project comprises a very strong network of partners, including the International Center of Sports Science and Physical Education (ICSSPE), the Council of Europe (CoE), the European Observatory on Sport and Employment (EOSE) and a good number of national sport partners.

The ASPIRE project has already started with its first phase which will consist in research on relevant best practices in order to ground the development of further project activities on underpinning evidence. The research will feed into the creation of a specialised training module, which will be disseminated in the second phase of the project through national trainings in the countries of the project partners. The project will finish with the organisation of a Pan-European event for further dissemination of the project outcomes.