Equal Play – Promoting acceptance between migrants / refugees and nationals through sport
EU Programme: Erasmus+ Sport
Reference: 101243185
Start date: 01/01/2026
End date: 31/12/2027
Europe needs more integrated and cohesive societies that allow citizens to be actively involved in democratic life. Sport and education must be the channels of disseminating common European values, social integration, and enhancing intercultural understanding and feeling of belonging to a community. Refugees, migrants, nationals, and diversified groups need to be trained and included in society. In order to identify a solution to this problem teachers and sport facilitators need to expand and widen the required competencies and learning opportunities by creating a special integration programme through sport.
The overall objective of our ‘Equal Play’ (formerly Breaking Barriers) initiative is to empower educators and sporting organisations with tools and means to manage the social integration of migrants and refugees in society and the mechanisms by which nationals can embrace those who are from elsewhere for reasons of economy, politics or sociability.
Our research findings and implications will support teachers, sport coaches, and NGOs working in the field of sport to understand and acknowledge the value of sport as a means of healthy living and social integration and how to include migrants and refugees with obvious problems of integration. The objectives of this project are (1) to include migrants and refugees in society by the use of sport through study and research on how sport can make the individual healthy and how it applies to those groups as a whole and to the locals with whom they share sport, and (2) to educate sports coaches, leaders and sports NGOs on the constructive influence of sport as a change agent and integrator.
- Promote the social inclusion of migrants and refugees through sport by addressing barriers to participation.
- Increase migrant participation in sports activities (from 20% to 50%).
- Strengthen social cohesion and sense of belonging (social connectedness improving from 2.5 to 4.0 on a 1–5 scale).
- Build the capacity of sports coaches, educators, and NGOs through structured training programmes.
- Increase awareness of sport as a tool for social inclusion (knowledge scores rising from 50% to 85%).
- Development of three key outputs: Self-Assessment Tool (O1), Practical Toolbox (O2), and Training System for Facilitators (O3).
- Delivery of at least 10 training sessions for sports stakeholders.
- Implementation of inclusive community-based sports activities involving migrants, refugees, and host communities.
- Organisation of national workshops and multiplier events.
- Communication and dissemination campaigns at local, national, and European levels.
- Creation and management of an open-access digital platform and online repository.
- Transnational partnership involving Ireland, Spain, Italy, Turkey, and Lithuania.
- Partners’ expertise in sport-based integration and social inclusion.
- Digital platform hosting training materials and tools.
- Multilingual training and educational resources.
- Monitoring framework based on quantitative and qualitative indicators (pre/post surveys, usage statistics, focus groups).
- Internal and external evaluation mechanisms to ensure quality and Erasmus+ compliance.
Results
- Increased sports participation among migrants and refugees up to 50%.
- Measurable improvement in social cohesion and inclusive attitudes within sports clubs.
- Training of at least 100 sports educators and facilitators.
- Direct engagement of at least 50 migrants, refugees, and nationals in national workshops.
- Adoption of the Self-Assessment Tool by at least 50 sports clubs.
- Minimum of 200 downloads of the toolbox and training materials.
- Strengthened European networks promoting inclusive sport practices.
Co-experts
- Sports coaches, youth leaders, and trainers involved in co-design and piloting of O2 and O3.
- NGOs and sports organisations working on migrant integration.
- Local authorities and policymakers engaged through workshops and policy roundtables.
- European sports federations and networks supporting dissemination and validation of methodologies.
Keywords
#socialinclusion #migrantintegration #refugeeparticipation #sportforinclusion #communitycohesion #interculturaldialogue #capacitybuilding #grassrootssport #genderinclusion #transnationalcooperation
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