European project studies ways to enable access to inclusive sport funding programmes

English version: Diana Taborda

The European project “Meter Matters”, which includes the University of Coimbra, and is coordinated by the University of Ljubljana, is developing a study to enable the access to support from inclusive sport programmes, specifically those involving activities with people with neurodevelopmental disorders, such as autism spectrum disorders and intellectual and developmental disabilities.

The study started after the research group found that "although there is national and international legislation that supports inclusive participation in sport, there are gaps between practice and the European Union guidelines, in terms of sustained support for inclusive sports programmes resulting from co-funding from government and local funds", explains Maria João Campos, professor at the Faculty of Sports Sciences and Physical Education of the University of Coimbra (FCDEFUC), researcher at the Research Centre for Sports and Physical Activity (CIDAF) and coordinator of the Centre for the Study of Adapted Physical Activity (NEAFA) at FCDEFUC.

Co-funding is relevant in this context as "in most countries funding is targeted at high-performance sport, particularly the Paralympic programme, and there is a gap in access to funding for the provision of adapted and inclusive physical activities in recreational and sporting contexts", stresses the researcher from the University of Coimbra.

This gap has been conditioning inclusive sports programmes as "the offer of sports clubs in adapted and/or inclusive sports is extremely small, preventing prospective participants from engaging in something as basic as regular physical activity", stresses Maria João Campos. Thus, the "creation of funding models and criteria will allow clubs, sports associations, and other types of institutions and entities to have the opportunity to benefit from funds that allow them to promote inclusive sports", adds the UC professor.

To enhance access to funding support, the ongoing research will propose, on the one hand, appropriate criteria for the co-financing of sports programmes involving people with neurodevelopmental disorders in sports organisations and, on the other hand, a co-financing model for sport inclusion at national level in each of the three countries involved.

Regarding the impacts of the project on the work of organizations that work in the area of inclusive sports, Maria João Campos explains that "if the criteria and the co-funding model are tested in pilot projects for a few years, it is expected that more sustainable solutions may emerge in sports for all" and that "the measurable criteria for inclusion in sport that Meter Matters will offer may be used in funding applications". In the long term, the UC researcher says that "we expect that the criteria for assessing sport inclusion and the proposal of a co-funding model will be one of the necessary and important steps towards the management of sports for all".

Meter Matters will be carried out until 2024 and will involve sports science professionals, psychologists, sports practitioners and their families, national and international experts in sport inclusion policy, sports organisations, organisations working in the field of disability and health which implement sports programmes, as well as decision-makers.

The project involves three countries: Slovenia, Portugal, and Hungary. Alain Massart, professor ar FCDEFUC, and José Pedro Ferreira, also a professor and current Directo of the Faculty of Sports Sciences and Physical Education of the UC are also members of the project team.