YouSports is about using social sport as a non-formal educational tool to reach young people—particularly those with fewer opportunities—and to create lasting personal and community development. 

It connects non-formal education, youth participation, and grassroots sport to support young people’s personal development and inclusion. Whether it’s a climbing session with mixed-ability groups or a football tournament for post-migration youth, YouSports uses social sport to reach young people where they are and create meaningful impact.

• Increase the quality of social sport initiatives

Support inclusive and structured sports activities for social inclusion; Support grassroots organisations and local actors in developing quality Erasmus+ projects with a sports dimension; Promote evidence-based methodologies and good practices; Encourage non-formal learning within sports contexts;

• Enhance recognition of social sport 

Promote sport as a tool for social inclusion and non-formal education; Encourage the transfer of competences learned through social sport; Strengthen links between sport, non-formal education, and community engagement.

• Strengthen partnerships and cooperation in social sport

Foster cooperation for broader social impact using sport as a method; build a community of organisations involved in social sport, sharing tools, knowledge and resources; facilitate cross-sector collaboration between youth work, sport, and education; Strengthen the capacity of National Agencies to support and develop sport-related initiatives within the programme.

Meant for: 

• Youth organisations and grassroots sport structures (clubs, associations, local authorities) interested in European cooperation.
• Young people and professionals from the sport and youth sectors, especially those engaged in social topics such as participation, inclusion and diversity.
• Erasmus+ National Agencies aiming to develop inclusive social sport into their strategy and foster cross-sector partnerships.

Main Activities

YouSports offers a wide range of activities to help you use sport in your youth work. These include study visits to other countries to learn how others do it, training courses to develop your competence and confidence, webinars with good practice examples, and seminars to build new partnerships. We also support international events like the Tool Fair to  or Expert Round Tables, where youth workers, coaches and researchers come together to share tools and ideas. Tools developed by Erasmus + National Agencies cooperating together make it easier to understand funding options and how to apply.

Using social sport in international projects helps you reach new target groups, make your activities more inclusive, and develop valuable skills like teamwork, empathy and leadership. It’s a simple, effective way to engage young people—especially those who don’t usually take part in traditional programmes. You can start small with a youth exchange or mobility project, and grow into bigger partnerships across Europe. 

YouSports helps you make that happen by:

• Delivering cooperation Activities such as Trainings and Seminars to encourage partnerships, develop quality, and encourage international projects including sport as a tool (e.g. Sport Praxis, Partnership Building Activities, Study Visits);
• Building a community of practice, gathering organisations involved in social sport and encouraging networking and sharing;
• Encouraging the exchange of best practices between organisations, but also National Agencies, to make things easier and improve quality. 

Further resources

• What is Social Sport? Find our definition here. 
• Some examples of social sport from participants in YouSports activities. 
• Find games and activities, that you can sort by learning objective

Who is involved? 

National Agencies for Erasmus+ Youth and the European Solidarity Corps in Austria, Belgium (Flanders), the Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Malta, Poland, Portugal, Spain and Türkiye, as well as SALTO EuroMed.

Get in touch! 

For your questions, reach out to the project coordinator, Susie Nicodemi: snacsports@service-civique.gouv.fr or to the core team at the host National Agency, Mathurin Le Roux: mathurin.le-roux@service-civique.gouv.fr.