How has sport changed the lives of displaced people in cities and municipalities?

National Olympic Committees act as important connecters – they advocate and implement inclusive policies, allocate resources, and foster partnerships. Therefore, the German Olympic Sports Confederation (DOSB) implements projects nationally and internationally besides an important role of advocacy making.

Currently there are more than 3 million people seeking protection in Germany.  The questions arise: How to integrate thousands of refugees into the sporting system on grassroots level, and how to provide opportunities for top athletes to continue their sport.  

DOSB’s “Integration through Sport” program has been implemented for over 35 years with the support of the German Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF and financially backed by the German Bundestag).  

The programme in Germany has faced several challenges in recent years, from the 2015/2016 refugee crisis to the war in Ukraine, including vast political changes and budget cuts, which have affected the continuity of support for sports clubs and target groups. Budget cuts have limited resources, narrowing the scope of activities and making it harder to reach communities with migration or refugee backgrounds. Additionally, societal polarization and growing hostility have created barriers for clubs engaged in integration work, discouraging both participation and support.

Based on the demands of the target group, key modules have been developed within the programme, e.g. coaching courses in regards to diversity, language courses for refugees, financial support and mentoring for the clubs. More than 10.000 of Germany’s sports clubs are engaged, and DOSB is committed to the further development of this program, including working with the Olympic Refuge Foundation to build capacity in trauma-informed coaching practice among sports coaches. Furthermore, the DOSB hosts 13 IOC Refugee Athlete scholarship holders which makes the DOSB the NOC with the most scholarship holders in the program right now.  

On the international level, we use our well-established Olympic network to implement projects. Since 2021, we implement the “Together in Sport” project with our partners from the Hellenic Olympic Committee (HOC), the Greek NGO METAdrasi and with the support of EU-AMIF and BAMF. With activities running until 2026, we aim to reach more than 19,000 young refugees including unaccompanied minors and Greek host communities.  

Regarding challenges, the limited availability of municipal sports facilities has proved to be a significant obstacle. Additionally, some sport trainings in are affected by the constant shift of the refugee population which is relocated from the Islands to mainland Greece.  

The involvement and empowerment of refugees as volunteer facilitators in the implementation of the regular sport trainings has been proven to be a successful approach. These refugees have a strong and relevant background in sports, acquired in their country of origin. They can act as role models for the project’s beneficiaries, showcasing that despite the hardships that they have faced, sport has been helping them cope with their transition to Greece. Moreover, volunteer refugee facilitators can be considered as indirect project beneficiaries since the project is also aiming to assist with their socio-economic integration and further education in sports.

One important motto for our work is: Diversity is a strength! The different perspectives, cultural backgrounds and abilities are important ingredients for all we do. Another ingredient is: Teamwork - since all of this wouldn’t be possible without our great partners.

About the author

Tobias Antoni works as a Project Manager for the DOSB in the department of International Relations in the field of sport for development mainly in the field of inclusion and integration of refugees and people with disabilities.