Give Sport a Say

The Give Sport a Say project aims to harness the unique power of grassroots sports to promote EU fundamental values, democracy, and human rights, engaging citizens directly with policy-makers to shape the future of EU sport policy.

Advancing fundamental values like democracy and human rights is a shared responsibility that requires collective effort. However, this is only possible when citizens possess a practical understanding of what these concepts mean in their everyday lives. The grassroots sport environment serves as a unique and powerful space for this education. For many, sports are the most common way to experience active citizenship. Beyond the connection to health and wellbeing, sports are closely intertwined with human rights related to education, cultural life, and political participation. Give Sport a Say recognizes this potential, using the sports field as a classroom for democracy. Give Sport a Say is promoting democracy and human rights in and through sport.

Over a duration of two years (March 2026 - February 2028), the consortium will implement 16 events across Europe. These activities will be integrated into regular sporting, educational, and governance events to facilitate discussion and collect ideas on the future of the EU. The project is structured into three distinct phases:
- Inform: Evaluating knowledge and explaining EU decision-making processes.
- Build Capacity: Providing practical skills and deeper insights into human rights in sport.
- Engage: Empowering citizens to contribute to policy dialogues and future EU sport strategies.

The project is led by OPES (Italy) and brings together a diverse consortium of seven partner organizations across Europe:
OPES: Italian Organisation for Sports Education (Italy) – Lead Coordinator
EAS: European Athlete As Student (Malta)
ENSE: European Network of Sport Education (Austria)
EU Sport Link (Belgium) 
EUSA Institute (Slovenia)
TAFISA: The Association For International Sport for All (Germany)
UFEC: Sports Federation Union of Catalonia (Spain)

"Give Sport a Say: give citizens a real say for the future of the EU in and through sports" project is co-funded by the European Union through the Citizens, Equality, Rights and Values (CERV) Programme, within the Citizens engagement call.