Despite the positive effects of sport on everyone, certain groups in sport are underrepresented. The SPIN Youth project aims to increase the participation of young people with diverse backgrounds (such as migrants, refugees, ethnic minorities) in sport, both active and in non-playing positions, and contributes to the creation of inclusive, discrimination-free sport environments which pro-actively welcome diversity and equality.

Sport is hardly representative of today’s European society. In addition to open forms of discrimination (such as racism and sexism) people with diverse backgrounds, especially youth and women, are structurally excluded. Structural discrimination refers to rules, norms, routines, patterns of attitudes and behaviour in institutions that represent obstacles to migrants and ethnic minorities in achieving the same rights and opportunities that are available to the majority population. The lack of advancement of minorities and People of Color in non-playing positions (administrators, coaches, referees) remains a recurring issue in many European sports. Sport does not per se contribute to the social inclusion of migrants and ethnic minorities. Evidently, a variety of barriers hinder equal access to sports participation.

Against this backdrop partners of the Sport Inclusion Network (SPIN) together with new partners have developed this innovative youth-driven sport inclusion project. Coming of age amid a pandemic, young people have displayed extraordinary resilience. However, there is a clear need for meaningful, coordinated support and pro-actively involvement of youth in various sectors (education, youth, employment). Sport and physical activities can play a vital role.

Specific Objectives of SPIN Youth

1. Identify and address barriers to and enabler of sports participation young people with diverse backgrounds, both in playing and non-playing positions

2. Facilitate youth-led knowledge production and empower, support, and foster young people’s involvement in sport design, delivery, and decision-making processes.

3. Raise awareness, network and increase capacities among sport organisations to engage and connect with young people with diverse backgrounds and to create inclusive sport environments

Activities

The methods and measures to achieve the specific objectives:

• Explore and understand young people’s context, experiences, and views on sport participation and foster peer learning.
• Identify and address barriers to and enabler of sport participation of young people with diverse backgrounds, in particular female youth with a migrant or refugee background.
• Facilitate youth-led knowledge production and empower, support, and foster young people’s involvement in sport design, development, delivery, and decision-making processes.
• Raise awareness and increase skills and capacities among sport organisations to engage and connect with young people from migrant or refugee families.
• Youth co-creation: enable diverse youth to develop and implement their own ideas in sport organisations.

Beneficiaries

Based on the needs analysis of the project, SPIN Youth will address the following target groups:

350+ young people (age 15-27) with refugee/migrant background will be actively involved. 20 sport, youth, and migrant organizations, 16 youth sport leaders & 15 role models are trained. 8 youth panels with 40 diverse young people will work with 80 sport stakeholders. Public sport events involve 1200+ people.

Selected Outputs

• European Training Academy for youth sport leaders
• 8 youth panels across 8 partner countries (AUT, BIH, IRE, FIN, GER, ITA, NED, POR)
• 8 youth-led action research cases and youth-led action plans promoting inclusion and diversity
• 8 youth-led actions (eg. sport events)
• Youth Inclusion Self-Assessment for Sport Clubs
• Digital Toolbox for Youth Engagement in Sport

SPIN Youth is implemented by Vienna Institute for International Dialogue and Cooperation (VIDC, Austria, lead agency). Partners in the project are:

• Unione Italiana Sport Per tutti (UISP, Italy)
• Liikkukaa – Sport for All (Finland)
• Football Association of Ireland (FAI, Ireland)
• Camino (Germany)
• Igrajmo Zajedno Inicijativa (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
• Huis voor Beweging (The Netherlands)
• Sindicato dos Jogadores Professionais de Futebol (SJPF, Portugal)

SPIN Youth is co-funded by the European Commission and its Erasmus+ sport programme.