BRIDGE4YOUTH

Building Municipal Connections Through Sports and Leadership / Erasmus+ Sport 2026 – Small Collaborative Partnerships (SCP)

Across Europe, youth sport participation is declining and shaped by structural inequalities. Gender and socio-economic gaps persist, and dropout remains especially high among girls and disadvantaged youth. At the same time, young people are highly digitally connected, yet they have limited influence over local sport decision-making. The challenge is therefore not only inactivity, but a governance gap: youth are too often passive recipients of sport policies rather than active contributors.

BRIDGE4YOUTH bridges this gap by combining youth sport participation with digital mapping tools, local governance engagement and parental awareness mechanisms. The project aims to turn young people from “users” of sport services into co-creators of inclusive local sport ecosystems.

Its overall objective is to develop and pilot an empowering Youth Sport Participation and Municipal Engagement Model that strengthens access, inclusion and democratic participation in grassroots sport through digital and governance innovation. It will identify barriers to participation, support youth leadership and inclusion measures, test a digital sport mapping and participation tool, and promote structured youth involvement in municipal sport processes (e.g., youth sport councils). Lessons learned will be translated into practical policy recommendations for local authorities.

Target groups include young people aged 15–29—especially young women, socio-economically disadvantaged youth and those with limited civic participation experience—alongside grassroots sport organisations, municipal youth and sport departments, parents and local decision-makers.