Skills4Sports partners met in Evia, Greece, from 6 to 10 June 2022, for its 1st cross-border capacity building workshop. This workshop along with a press conference organised on Wednesday 8 June included contributions from representatives and members of Trek Development S.A., the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and the Development Agency of Evia S.A. It was organized and hosted by Trek Development S.A, one of the Greek partners of Skills4Sports.

The 5-day workshop took place shortly before the launching of the Skills4Sports Training Courses. Each partner organisation presented the courses that it has developed and will be offering to young people who are Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEETs) aged 18-29, starting in the summer/autumn 2022.

The Malta Football Association (MFA) presented the trainings that it will deliver, and which revolve around the development of sport management and leadership skills. The trainers will be a highly skilled athlete and sport psychologist, an animator and an ex national team coach and the trainings will be held in an interactive and participatory way, which will include working in groups, case studies and role-playing.

The Development Agency of Evia S.A., Lead Beneficiary of Skills4Sports, will employ IT specialists, digital marketing experts, graphic designers and video games experts in an effort to boost the technological skills of young NEETs who will be trained in IT skills, file manipulation, office automations, digital marketing tools, e-sports and other fields of sports and technology. Another course offered by the Development Agency of Evia S.A. will address management and financial aspects of sports and will aim to integrate previous skills that NEETs might have, building upon the different backgrounds that the NEETs attending these courses might have. Again, the emphasis will be on participatory methods of learning. The aim of these courses is to help create people with managerial skills ready to be incorporated in the sports sector.

Ilaria Marino, of the International Cooperation South South (CISS), Italian partner, and digital content manager, gave an overview of the courses prepared by CISS which will help students develop the skills for creating digital communication strategies and formulating convincing digital content, connecting with supporters and clients, branding, creating and managing Google and Meta campaigns and conducting digital research.

The Salfit Development Associatio(SDA), one of the Palestinian project partners, presented its educational approach, which blends theory and practice and its curriculum, which will be covering a wide range of topics, including an introduction to sports, culture and society, an overview of the Olympic games, an introduction to sports business, sports facilities management and a wide ranging study and presentation of careers in the sports industry.

Palestine Sports for Life (PS4L) explained how its courses will inspire and empower young NEETs helping them with goal setting, critical thinking, problem-solving and decision making. The curriculum will include courses in social and financial skills development, intercultural understanding and interpersonal skills and will combine classroom courses as well as more hands-on educational methods. It should be noted that during the 5-day workshop, PS4L trainers gave a demonstration of their participative educational approach by involving all workshop participants in ice-breaking and social skills development games.

The Catalan Association Cluster of Sports Industry (INDESCAT) commented on Barcelona’s tradition in sports and emphasized the importance of the 1992 Olympic games which were held in the city. They discussed the importance of technology in sports and the consequent significance of cybersecurity, a topic that will be covered in detail the curriculum offered by INDESCAT. Data management, digital transformation, data protection are other fields that will be addressed in this curriculum.

Finally, the Rene Moawad Foundation (RMF) of Lebanon, presented the curriculum that it has developed covering topics in sports management and leadership skills development. RMF is part of a very extensive network of schools and universities in both Lebanon and France, which is very promising in terms of the Skils4Sports sustainability.