European Week of Sport – 23-30 September

European Week of Sport – 23-30 September

Every year from 23 to 30 September, the European Week of Sport promotes more active, healthier lifestyles to millions of people in Europe and beyond. This year the launch is in Bled, Slovenia. EFDN Hubert Rovers is attending the opening event.

The seventh edition of the European Week of Sport will take place from 23rd-30th September 2021. This year’s theme highlights the power of physical activity to bring joy, build resilience and connect generations. The stunning scenery of Lake Bled in Slovenia will be the background for the official opening of the European Week of Sport 2021.

For six years, the European Week of Sport has helped tackle the inactivity crisis by encouraging Europeans to embrace a healthy and active lifestyle. Launched in 2015, the European Week of Sport was created in response to the worsening inactivity crisis. Despite sport and physical activity substantially contributing to the well-being of European citizens, the level of physical activity is currently stagnating and even declining in some countries.

This is why the European Week of Sport exists – to bring awareness of how important an active lifestyle is for everyone.  Regardless of who we are and what we do, even slight increases in regular, physical activity can have a profound impact on our long-term health.  The Week is designed to give people across the world a springboard into being active!

We invite all EFDN members to support the European Week of Sport! Please use #BeActive and #EuropeanWeekofSport in your communications.

EFDN Programmes

Our network members will deliver Scoring for Health school sessions to promote the importance of healthy eating and sufficient physical activity among children. Boys and girls from across Europe will engage in street football competitions across Europe to gain points for the Community Champions League. Every day, EFDN will highlight best practice Health programmes in European football on the EFDN communication channels. 

EFDN’s programme ‘Scoring for Health’ aims to tackle the problem of childhood obesity which, as identified by the World Health Organisation, is still a critical issue throughout Europe today. With the underlying target of promoting a healthy diet and lifestyle amongst children, their families and wider communities across Europe, the programme supports the 3rd UN Sustainable Development Goal of Good Health and Well Being and is co-funded by the UEFA Foundation for Children and European Union.

Scoring for Health encourages children from 7 to 14 years and their parents to adopt a healthy lifestyle and make them aware of healthy nutrition. This programme will be running for 3 years, where 3 periods of 20 weeks of various activities will be delivered by the participating football clubs and the Portuguese FA in cooperation with local schools and health organisations. Each cycle of the programme starts and finishes with a sporting event at the respective stadiums or elite academies. Participants will be given specialist interactive classes, learning sessions and workshops on a weekly basis on topics such as nutrition, cooking, physical activity and football sessions. The launch events for the programme will be held at the stadiums or elite academies of the participating clubs where, with players from the club supporting them, the pupils will have the opportunity to enjoy a day of sports and games as well as several educational workshops. Key physical indicators and health determinants (weight, height, BMI, speed, balance etc) will also be measured, collected and calculated for each participant, giving instant analysis of each child’s fitness and providing a scientific basis for allowing comparisons and defining the participants’ progress.

The Community Champions League is a social street football competition organised locally in ten cities in eight European countries, where participating teams can earn more points through fair play, equitable support and volunteering in community activities than by winning their street football matches. The European Football for Development Network (EFDN) is coordinating the  project in partnership with ten football clubs from the Netherlands, England, Scotland, Norway, Portugal, Hungary, Belgium and Germany.

The aim of the programme funded by Erasmus+ is to promote social cohesion, education and volunteering through sport. The Community Champions League provides an opportunity for people from different cultures to come together to build relationships and friendships while breaking down barriers by preventing violence, racism and intolerance.

The Walking Football League aims to deliver health-enhancing physical activity to people over the age of 50 years old, as well as provide opportunities to increase social inclusion levels allowing them to lead a physically and socially active lifestyle in their European community. The Walking Football League will further develop Walking Football as a sustainable sport in Europe and raise the profile of the game.

n this new project, EFDN and Partners will develop a Walking Football League methodology that provides individual clubs the opportunity to create their own Walking Football Leagues with multiple teams on a local and regional level, which will contribute to the establishment of national Leagues and the European Walking Football League. 

The Activate Healthy Lifestyle through Counselling for You (ActivU)  project addresses the topic of encouraging participation in physical activity (PA), supporting the implementation of the Council Recommendation on health-enhancing PA, following EU Guidelines. The ActivU project aims to increase awareness and behavioural change in former active citizens with and without disabilities toward a healthy active lifestyle through the enrichment of counselling and also prescription procedures to enhance the effective use of physical activity and other health-related behaviours. EFDN is organising a Multiplier Sport Event on the 6th of October in Breda, The Netherlands. All interested organisations and individuals can contact Project Manager Lewis Walker for more information.