Youth spaces after COVID-19 – sport in flourishing communities
On Wednesday, 21 April 2021, ENGSO participated in the conference “Youth spaces after COVID-19 – sport in flourishing communities” which was hosted by the European Parliament Sports Groups and UEFA Foundation for Children.
A large number of sport and youth stakeholders attended the conference and shared their experiences in working with youth.
During the conference, the following issues were addressed: the economic crisis that clubs and grassroots sports are currently experiencing because of the Covid-19 pandemic, the health of young people, the place of sport in the Recovery and Resilience Facility, and the importance of inviting young people to volunteer in their clubs and communities.
Solutions and experiences were presented by Nicolai Boysen, member of the European Youth Forum, followed by Hedeli Sassi of the Royal Belgian Football Association and Yann Leymarie of the Surfrider Foundation Europe.
The conference ended with the concluding remarks from Mrs Floor van Houdt, Head of the European Commission’s Sport Unit and Mr MEP Tomasz Frankowski, Co-Chair European Parliament Sports Group who both emphasised the importance of finding financial solutions and actions to help youth organizations and sports clubs. They also highlighted that it will be necessary to find a tailor-made solution for specific national recovery plans to support the sport sector and youth.
