The European Commission received a total of 207 applications in response to the first call for proposals for 'preparatory actions in the field of sport,' launched last spring.
The total sum requested amounted to nearly €44 million, but just €4 million of funding was available. Meanwhile, 77 of the proposals were ineligible, according to the Commission.
Maroš Šefčovič, the EU commissioner in charge of sports, said that the huge interest in the first call "clearly demonstrates the need for support for transnational sport projects in the EU" and proved that the "expectations of sport stakeholders are high".
Over half (133) of the project proposals received were related to promoting health-enhancing physical activity and 63 dealt with promoting education and training in sport. Considerably fewer proposals were submitted in the category of promoting disability sports (32) and gender equality (26).
Among the 18 projects selected, nine deal with health-enhancing physical activity, four promote education and training and two disability sports. Three projects were selected to strengthen gender equality in sport.
None of the contracts have been signed yet, but the projects - involving 150 organisations across Europe - will kick off by the end of March 2010 and will have to be completed by the end of March 2011.
Successful projects
One of the projects selected is the Women's International Leadership Development (WILD) initiative, which aims to strengthen women's access to decision-making positions in sport and promotes networking between women leaders, both nationally and internationally. The project is led by the European Non-Governmental Sports Organisation (ENGSO) and includes six other European partners.
Another successful project was the Sport Action Network of Europe (SANTE), which aims to promote health-enhancing physical activity via sports organisations and promote cooperation between sports organisations and business, school, local government and health organisations. The project, run by the International Sport and Culture Association (ISCA), gathers 16 other partners around Europe in view of helping sports organisations to learn from each other about health-enhancing physical activity.
ISCA Secretary-General Jacob Schouenborg stressed that the project is not a "closed club". Instead, it hopes to reach more partners "nationally and internationally from not only sport but also patients' associations, municipalities, industrial stakeholders, schools and more".
"Everyone is invited," Schouenborg said, encouraging interested organisations to join the project.
Regarding education and training, Bosons Sport College in Sweden will run a project focused on increasing opportunities and finding better ways for young athletes to pursue dual careers. It will also set up a European network on dual careers to exchange best practices.
As for disability, the European Observatory of Sport and Employment (EOSE) is set to map existing regulations, policies and sport events in order to identify ways of integrating sport for people with disabilities into mainstream sports events.
2010
The European Parliament will vote on the EU's 2010 budget later this month, framing the proportion of the budget available for the 2010 call for proposals, which will be launched in spring 2010.
The Commission's original proposal was €1.5 million, but might be amended to reach €3 million (EurActiv 26/10/09).
