The Rene Moawad Foundation, Skills4Sports partner in Lebanon, hosted the 2nd Cross-border Capacity Building Workshop in Lebanon in Royal Tulip Hotel from October 3rd to October 7th in the presence of all the partners and trainers. On the 3rd day, the Skills4Sports Info Day was held in the presence of Dr. Georges Assaf, co-founder and Technical Director at Performance First Health Club and Sports Academy School who presented to the partners the curriculum in Lebanon. In addition, the Rene Moawad Foundation in collaboration with Sports Academy School will give the chance to 180 young people who are Not in Education, Employment or Training (NEETs) to choose two out of six courses to participate in and get certified in one out of four coaching areas. The courses include:  Coaching and Leadership, Sports digital marketing and communications, Sports Event Management, Dual Careers, Sports Sociology, Introduction to sports management and sports economy.

Skills4Sports” is an international network aiming to increase the employability of “not in employment, education or training” NEETs by tackling the skills gap in the sports sector. The project is being implemented in Greece, Malta, Italy, Spain, Palestine, Lebanon and aims to find the right skills for the sports sector rising needs to promote social inclusion and fight against poverty which is increasing exponentially due to the various economic, political, and health challenges the country is facing. In Lebanon, we see a rise in the sports sector through several initiatives yet what we notice is the lack of specialized skills, knowledge, digital infrastructure and, most importantly, human resources, collaboration and proper governmental support. This creates an imbalance between the sports sector rising need and the skills gap, as mentioned earlier. Despite the very tough situation Lebanon is going through, identifying the sports sector as a growing market and providing skilled, capable and technical human resources among the youth rectifies the imbalance mentioned earlier. This critical approach benefits the sports sector and creates more opportunities for NEETS and youth by offering them a unique set of skills and knowledge to empower them and build a better future for themselves and their society.