Call for greater focus on grassroots sports as EU plans first ever sports programme

A group of members of the European Parliament (MEPs) are calling for greater attention on funding of grassroots sports, as the European Commission prepares to draft its first ever proposal of an EU sports programme in November.

On Monday, five MEPs tabled a declaration on increased EU support for grassroots sports, arguing that the majority of Europeans participating in sports are engaged on a grassroots level.

The declaration highlighted the contribution sport has to other policy objectives such as health and education and the impact of the economic crisis on the funding of grassroots sports.

See the written declaration submitted to the European Parliament here.

The initiative will be officially launched on 14 September at the European Parliament in Brussels, writes EurActive.

ISCA’s vision
At a public hearing on sport for all and physical activity in Europe in June, several MEPs stressed the role of grassroots sport in delivering the EU's goals of better health and social inclusion, writes EurActive. The hearing was organised by the International Sport and Culture Association (ISCA).

In ISCA’s position paper, the organisation writes that it ”strongly encourages European institutions to grant the grass-root sport and physical activity sector a prominent role in the coming EU Sports initiatives”.

Read ISCA’s position paper here

ISCA is thus calling for the European Union to give more attention to grassroots sports in order to make sport more accessible for all Europeans. ISCA’s vision is that 100 million more Europeans should be active in sport and physical activity by 2020.  

Sign ISCA’s petition to get 100 million more Europeans to be physically active by 2020 here.